South Korean President Moon Jae-in heads to Washington on Monday as President Trump is reportedly asking advisers if he should pull out of a June 12 summit in Sinagpore with North Korea's Kim Jong Un, given the political risks of failure. Moon has been a driving force in the de-escalation of hostility between Trump, Kim, and South Korea, but some Trump aides and outside analysts question whether Moon oversold Kim's willingness to give up his nuclear weapons. Kim's government surprised the White House last week when it broke off peace talks with South Korea and said it would never denuclearize under the conditions suggested by Washington. Trump asked Kim in a call on Saturday night why Pyongyang's public statement seems different than private assurances Moon had conveyed after he met with Kim in April, The New York Times reports.
"It increasingly looks like the Moon administration overstated North Korea's willingness to deal," tweeted Robert Kelly, a professor of political science at South Korea's Pusan National University. "Moon will probably get an earful over that" from Trump. Seoul says the main agenda when Moon meets with Trump Tuesday will be preparing for the summit. Kim appears very conversant about the details of his nuclear program, but White House aides are "concerned about what kind of grasp Mr. Trump has on the details of the North Korea program," the Times reports. "Aides who have recently left the administration say Mr. Trump has resisted the kind of detailed briefings about enrichment capabilities, plutonium reprocessing, nuclear weapons production, and missile programs that [former President Barack] Obama and President George W. Bush regularly sat through."
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
-
Help! Do we really need four Beatles biopics?Talking Point The cast of Sam Mendes' Beatles biopics has been announced
-
Test driving the Rolls-Royce Spectre Black BadgeThe Week Recommends We take the most powerful Rolls-Royce ever built for a spin in Barcelona
-
Tuberculosis is seeing a resurgence, and it's only going to get worseUnder the radar The spread of the deadly infection is buoyed by global unrest
-
Sen. Booker's 25-hour speech beats ThurmondSpeed Read He spoke for the longest time in recorded Senate history, protesting the Trump administration's policies
-
Bondi seeks death penalty for Luigi MangioneSpeed Read Mangione was charged with fatally shooting UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson last year
-
Democrats win costly Wisconsin court seatSpeed Read Democrats prevailed in an election for the Wisconsin Supreme Court despite Elon Musk's robust financial support of the Republican candidate
-
WHCA rejects White House press seating grabSpeed Read The White House Correspondents' Association objected to the Trump administration's bid to control where journalists sit during press briefings
-
Trump sends more migrants to El Salvador jailSpeed Read Another 17 Venezuelan alleged gang members have been deported to a notorious prison
-
Trump 'not joking' about unconstitutional 3rd termSpeed Read The president seems to be serious about seeking a third term in 2028
-
The JFK files: the truth at last?In The Spotlight More than 64,000 previously classified documents relating the 1963 assassination of John F. Kennedy have been released by the Trump administration
-
Supreme Court upholds 'ghost gun' restrictionsSpeed Read Ghost guns can be regulated like other firearms
