[Editorial] N. Korea hopefully responds to Trump’s conciliatory remarks during Tokyo summit

US President Donald Trump and Japanese Emperor Naruhito at the Imperial Palace in Tokyo on May 27. (Reuters/Yonhap News)

During the Japan-US summit held in Tokyo on May 27, US President Donald Trump said that there’s “great respect” between North Korea and the US and that he expects “lots of good things.” Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe also strongly expressed his hope that a North Korea-Japan summit will be held. With tensions high because of North Korea’s recent launch of short-range missiles, it’s encouraging that the leaders of Japan and the US have sent the North a concerted message about dialogue and negotiations. We hope that the results of their summit will help put the denuclearization talks back on track.

During his joint press conference with Abe, Trump emphasized that some of his staff think North Korea’s missile launch “could have been a violation” of UN Security Council resolutions but said, “I view it differently.” Trump also praised North Korean leader Kim Jong-un as being “a very smart man,” while calling on the North to initiate change and move forward on denuclearization.

What’s notable here is that Trump has shown he’s still strongly committed to resuming dialogue with the North, even though nearly three months have passed since talks between the two countries broke down during their summit in Hanoi, at the end of February.

“North Korea fired off some small weapons, which disturbed some of my people, and others, but not me. I have confidence that Chairman Kim will keep his promise to me,” Trump said in a tweet the day before.

It’s also noteworthy that Abe expressed his willingness to hold a summit with North Korea by saying that he wants to meet Kim to discuss the issue of Japanese abducted by North Korea “frankly” and “in complete candor.” Japan and North Korea hold contradictory positions on the abductee issue, with the North maintaining that the issue is resolved and Japan asserting that there are additional abductees. While it won’t be easy for them to narrow the huge gap between their positions, the mere effort to hold dialogue is expected to have a positive impact on the situation on the Korean Peninsula.

It’s too bad that Trump and Abe didn’t come up with a more proactive incentive for North Korea during their summit. Once again, Trump confirmed his intention to maintain sanctions on the North and indicated that he won’t rush the North Korean denuclearization process. The US State Department also reiterated its previous position on North Korean denuclearization and North Korea-US relations on May 24, remarking that the US is still prepared to engage in constructive dialogue with North Korea to achieve simultaneous and parallel progress. It should be noted that Abe adopted a harsher stance than Trump on North Korea’s missile launch, which he said violated UN Security Council resolutions.

We need to find a striking alternative that will bring North Korea back to the negotiating table and revive dialogue. We also hope that North Korea will respond more proactively to Trump’s conciliatory remarks.

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