Analysts have speculated that the changes represent a move by Kim to install more moderate voices in the military, possibly to pave the way for concessions over the country’s nuclear program that may come out of the summit with Trump.
Advertisement
“And I can also tell you the schedule tentatively for that first meeting will be on June 12 at 9am Singapore time”. Kim Yong-chol met with US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and hand-delivered a letter directly from Kim Jong-un to Trump. Trump immediately announced that the summit was back on for June 12 in Singapore.
It is not clear exactly where Mr Trump and Mr Kim will stay at the hotel, but previous reports have suggested that the North Korean leader desires a suite and that the U.S. government may be willing to pay for it. “I think he is pulling in people who are more loyal to him as he may be getting some pushback on this stuff he is doing with the Americans”, said Steve Tharp, a retired US Army colonel and former negotiator with the KPA, referring to mixed messages coming from Pyongyang.
Earlier the same day, Trump tweeted: “Meeting in Singapore with North Korea will hopefully be the start of something big … we will soon see!”
After a war of words between members of the Trump and Kim administrations last month, however, Trump abruptly called the meeting off, citing “tremendous anger and open hostility” from his North Korean counterpart. Given this situation, the USA government needs to work on the human rights issues in order to conclude treaties requiring congressional approval and promote other matters.
Kim Jong-un has shown similar patterns in the past from refraining from public activities as he prepared for major summits.
Over the weekend, North Korea said that Syrian President Bashar al-Assad was planning a state visit to North Korea as well. Given the country’s opacity, it’s hard to know exactly what’s behind the changes-or if they had anything to do with that salute, which was not reciprocated by South Korean military officials.
He warned North Korea that only when they agree to complete denuclearization can they expect economic sanctions to lift.
In an April interview with TMZ, Rodman said that Kim didn’t understand the president until he gave the North Korean strongman a copy of Trump’s ghost-written book, “The Art of the Deal”, for his birthday in 2017.
A Seoul government source said, “Right after Foreign Minister Lavrov visited Pyongyang on May 31, North Korean media reported that the two sides agreed to a North-Russia summit”.
Advertisement
The KCNA report said Assad made the comments about a possible trip to North Korea last Tuesday while receiving the credentials of the North Korean ambassador.
