TAMER FAKAHANY
DEPUTY DIRECTOR – GLOBAL NEWS COORDINATION, LONDON
From THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Media www.rajawalisiber.com – They were jaw-dropping summits. Meetings between two men who had threatened to obliterate each other’s countries in thermonuclear infernos and descended into personal insults for good measure.
FILE – This Jan. 14, 2021, file photo provided by the North Korean government shows missiles during a military parade marking the ruling party congress, at Kim Il Sung Square in Pyongyang, North Korea. Last year was a disaster for North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, who helplessly watched his country’s economy decay amid pandemic border closures while brooding over the collapse of made-for-TV summits with former President Donald Trump that failed to lift sanctions from his country. Now he must start over with President Joe Biden, who has previously called him a thug and accused Trump of chasing spectacles instead of meaningful reductions of Kim’s nuclear arsenal. Korean language watermark on image as provided by source reads: “KCNA” which is the abbreviation for Korean Central News Agency. (Korean Central News Agency/Korea News Service via AP, File)
But while the meetings between Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong un were huge feasts on spectacle, they were thin gruel on substance. Nothing concrete emerged in terms of reducing Pyongyang’s nuclear program, nor Washington easing sanctions on North Korea.
Last year was a disaster for Kim, who helplessly watched his country’s economy decay amid pandemic border closures while brooding over the collapse of those made-for-TV summits with Trump that failed to lift punishing sanctions from his country, Kim Tong-hyung reports.
Now he must start over with President Biden, who has previously called him a thug and accused Trump of chasing spectacles instead of meaningful reductions of Kim’s nuclear arsenal.
The change of U.S. government could see North Korea revert to its old behavior. It has a history of testing new U.S. administrations with weapons demonstrations aimed at forcing the Americans back to negotiations.
Kim recently paraded new weapons he may test, including missiles designed for submarine launches.
In this photo provided by the North Korean government, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un waves as Kim attended a military parade, marking the ruling party congress, at Kim Il Sung Square in Pyongyang, North Korea Thursday, Jan. 14, 2021. Independent journalists were not given access to cover the event depicted in this image distributed by the North Korean government. The content of this image is as provided and cannot be independently verified. Korean language watermark on image as provided by source reads: “KCNA” which is the abbreviation for Korean Central News Agency. (Korean Central News Agency/Korea News Service via AP)