Kim Jong-un and Trump Meet in Singapore

The first meeting between a U.S. President and a head of North Korea broke no new grounds. But it was a start.

The on-again, off-again meeting between Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un took place in Singapore on Tuesday of this week. Both leaders gave the appearance of being guarded in front of the cameras though remained friendly to each other. The agreement produced by the summit broke no new grounds when it came to denuclearization, and was simply a confidence building measure between the two nations. Four points were made in a document signed by Trump and Kim and they are as follows:

The United States and the DPRK commit to establish new US-DPRK relations in accordance with the desire of the peoples of the two countries for peace and prosperity.
The United States and DPRK will join their efforts to build a lasting and stable peace regime on the Korean Peninsula.
Reaffirming the April 27, 2018 Panmunjom Declaration, the DPRK commits to work toward complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula
The United States and the DPRK commit to recovering POW/MIA remains, including the immediate repatriation of those already identified.

Outside of the agreement Trump says he has agreed to halt all military exercises off the Korean peninsula and Kim Jong-un will dismantle a rocket testing facility. All sanctions on North Korea remain in effect.

But will any of this change North Korea’s behavior? Kim Jong-un said during the signing ceremony “the world will see a major change.” However, it would not be the first time the North Korean’s have gone back on their words and agreements. The world will have to wait and see what North Korea in fact does. Despite all the hype and hope for the Singapore Summit, in the end, it was solely a confidence building exercise between the two nations. What fruits it may produce, only time will tell.

Brian F. Bridgeforth

Brian F. Bridgeforth is a social media political commentator with a background that includes advising and managing political campaigns at local, state, and federal levels. His social media activities have in the past caught the attention of CNN and the Wall Street Journal along with a number of politically oriented blogs.