With waves and smiles, the leaders of North and South Korea met for a third summit. Even as the historic cooperation is on display, however, one question looms over this and other signs of progress on denuclearization: Is North Korea serious when it talks about giving up its nuclear weapons?
This week, South Korean President Moon Jae-in is in North Korea for a three-day summit with North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un. The subjects of their talks are familiar: formally ending the Korean war, progress on denuclearization, and, potentially, reunification of the divided peninsula.
[Also read: When it comes to North Korea, Moon and Trump are on very different pages]
With mobilized crowds waving flags championing a unified Korea, and a state announcement telling North Koreans that the meeting with the South Korean president “will offer an important opportunity in further accelerating the development of inter-Korean relations that is making a new history,” at least half of that agenda seemed to have explicit support from the Kim regime.
The other half, denuclearization, is much less certain. Although North Korea has seemingly indicated willingness to denuclearize following the Singapore summit between President Trump and Kim earlier this summer, the regime has quietly continued its nuclear program and even made efforts to conceal this activity.
Those actions are concerning, even if Trump still feels warmly toward Kim and looks forward to another meeting with him. They have given his administration pause and left the U.S. rightly skeptical of renewed talks between North and South — especially if they might lead to a push for an official end of the Korean War without a commitment for denuclearization.
The U.S. is right to be skeptical. If North Korea did come to an agreement with South Korea to end the war, that could pave the way for demands from the North for the U.S. to remove military personnel and the U.N. Command from South Korea. That would be a huge win for North Korea and one that would give away a key bargaining chip in getting a clear commitment for denuclearization.
Although it’s a welcome sign to see unification flags waving and the leaders of the two leaders standing together, North Korea has often touted unity when it thought it could be a persuasive tool. When it comes to the decades long peace process on the Korean peninsula while optimism is good, it’s also prudent to be wary of North Korea’s intentions.
