The Korea Times (July 1)
There are clearly “concerns that the one-time meeting may end up as an anticlimax. Trump probably needed such global grandstanding…to boost his re-election bid. For his part, Kim might have wanted to use his DMZ meeting with Trump as propaganda to raise his international standing and tighten his grip on power.” Still, one must hope that “Trump and Kim will reach a grand deal to resolve the North Korean nuclear issue. Their ‘handshake of peace’ should be translated into complete denuclearization and lasting peace on the peninsula.”
Tags: Anticlimax, DMZ, Grand deal, Grandstanding, Handshake, Kim, North Korea, Nuclear issue, Peace, Propaganda, Re-election, South Korea, Trump, U.S.
The Hill (June 30)
“The images from the DMZ looked a bit like a summit between leaders of two crime families; indeed, Trump had to ask Kim if North Korea’s key negotiators with the United States are still alive.” Whether the meeting ultimately amounts “to a meaningful step toward peace on the divided Korean peninsula or is a cheap and illusory ‘reality’ show, with no lasting significance, is difficult to know at this point.”
Tags: Alive, Crime families, DMZ, Kim, Meaningful, Negotiators, North Korea, Summit, Trump, U.S.
