With North Korea continuing its ballistic missile and nuclear weapons development programs, President Trump should give Kim Jong Un two weeks to suspend his bad faith actions or face U.S. withdrawal from ongoing negotiations.
While it has been known that North Korea was continuing its illicit development programs alongside pledges to the contrary, varied reporting over the past few days has proven that fact beyond a doubt. And for Trump, that posits a moment of consequential choice.
Trump had declared North Korea “no longer a nuclear threat,” in his best Neville Chamberlain impression. Trump has given Kim the suspension of U.S.-South Korean military exercises and relief from new sanctions without getting anything in return. That North Korea is simultaneously and so aggressively breaking the Singapore denuclearization framework suggests that Kim Jong Un is unserious about compromising.
In turn, if Trump fails to pressure Kim instead of praising him, the North Korean leader will continue playing for time to complete his intercontinental ballistic missile-plus-nuclear warhead capability. And he’ll destroy Trump’s credibility in the process. So what should Trump do?
Well, put simply, the president should warn Kim Jong Un that he needs to permanently suspend his nuclear and ballistic missile development activities within the next two weeks. That’s enough time for Kim to cease his activities and for the U.S. to verify that he has ceased them. If Kim does so, the negotiating process should continue. But if Kim fails to do so even under U.S. pressure, it will prove that the North Koreans are unserious about making any serious concessions.
At that point Trump can impose new sanctions on Pyongyang — either alongside or targeting China. Trump can tie these actions to the resumed credible threat of military force and openness to a new diplomatic arrangement on time-sensitive terms. While Trump might ultimately have to accept North Korea’s retention of a small number of nuclear weapons in return for suspending its ballistic missile program, the president has shown the flexibility to get a good deal. But throwing out the old consensus in pursuit of a worthy peace is not the same as ignoring reality.
The present reality is that Kim Jong Un is playing Trump. Trump must issue Kim a deadline to get serious.
