Did Trump help push North Korea toward peace?

(Image credit: NICHOLAS KAMM/AFP/Getty Images)

published 27 April 2018

President Trump began the day Friday with a triumphant tweet: "KOREAN WAR TO END!"

The president was referring to the historic summit that took place on the Korean Peninsula on Friday, when South Korean President Moon Jae-in and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un met in the Demilitarized Zone for negotiations. It was just the third time the leaders of the two nations have met since the Korean War armistice was signed in 1953. Because no peace treaty was officially signed, the two nations are technically still at war, but Moon and Kim agreed Friday to pursue "complete denuclearization" and to, hopefully, sign a treaty to officially end the conflict.

Trump has not been shy to take credit for the thawing of Korean relations, having touted his own role in the negotiations multiple times. But Moon himself has lent credence to that theory, saying in January that the American president had "made a huge contribution to make inter-Korean talks happen," adding that he expressed "gratitude" to Trump for doing so.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

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.

Trump also directed Mike Pompeo, then the CIA director and now the secretary of state, to pay a visit to Korea over Easter weekend. While there, Pompeo covertly met with Kim — an extremely rare meeting of high-level officials, given the U.S. and North Korea have no formal diplomatic relationship. Trump on Friday additionally praised Chinese President Xi Jinping, for his role in the talks; Trump has enjoyed a good relationship with Xi and in turn, Beijing has put economic pressure on Pyongyang.

A meeting between Trump and Kim, too, is still supposedly in the works. Read more about Friday's historic summit here at The Week.