With the proposed diplomatic meeting between President Trump and Kim Jong-un in the works, the North Korean regime announced on Saturday it would cease missile testing and close a nuclear test site. “Under the proven condition of complete nuclear weapons, we no longer need any nuclear tests, mid-range and intercontinental ballistic rocket tests,” Kim said in a statement announced by state news agency KCNA. “The nuclear test site in northern area has also completed its mission.” North Korea did not say it would agree to give up its weapons, but said they will not use them “unless there is a nuclear threat or nuclear provocation to our country.”
Stipulating that any promises from Kim and Pyongyang should be greeted with great skepticism, it’s also clear that the North Koreans’ pledge is relatively narrow and does not achieve what the White House says is its ultimate goal: denuclearization of the Korean peninsula. But President Trump seemed to take Kim’s promise much farther in a Sunday morning tweet:
Sleepy Eyes Chuck Todd of Fake News NBC just stated that we have given up so much in our negotiations with North Korea, and they have given up nothing. Wow, we haven’t given up anything & they have agreed to denuclearization (so great for World), site closure, & no more testing!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 22, 2018
There have been some, on Twitter and in cable news, who have referred to Kim’s pledge as one of “denuclearization,” but that’s either sloppy or misguided shorthand. Perhaps the president was using the same shorthand. But his tweet falsely suggested the end goal of his administration’s North Korea policy had already been reached, which is why a follow-up tweet a few minutes later un-spiked the football a bit:
….We are a long way from conclusion on North Korea, maybe things will work out, and maybe they won’t – only time will tell….But the work I am doing now should have been done a long time ago!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 22, 2018
Jerusalem Watch—Axios reports that Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin will lead the U.S. delegation in Israel for the opening of America’s new embassy in Jerusalem next month:
President Trump will welcome President Emmanuel Macron of France to the White House Monday to begin a three-day visit, the first official state visit of Trump’s presidency. Between a tour of George Washington’s estate at Mt. Vernon and a wreath-laying ceremony at Arlington National Cemetery, Macron and his delegation will participate in a series of working meetings, including a one-on-one Oval Office session Tuesday and a joint press conference Wednesday.
Administration officials said Friday that the visit would affirm America and France’s long friendship and diplomatic and military partnership. “This visit will celebrate the close and continuing ties between France and the United States in this, the 100th anniversary year of the end of World War 1,” a senior official said. “President Trump is continuing the legacy of French-American cooperation that stretches back to America’s independence, and is working with President Macron to build upon the already strong ties between the United States and France.”
Macron’s visit comes as the Trump administration is trying to untangle a number of tricky foreign policy issues, such as whether to reimpose economic sanctions on Iran lifted under the 2015 nuclear deal, how to secure a commitment to denuclearization from North Korea, and how to avoid triggering a trade war with China.
Comey Watch—My colleague Eric Felten takes a critical look at one particular aspect of former FBI director James Comey’s recently released memos documenting his interactions with Donald Trump as president-elect and president. What Felten finds by looking at the various classifications is that Comey seemed to design his memos for the purposes of leaking them—which he eventually did, to the New York Times via a friend.
Photo of the Day
On the TV—I appeared on CNN’s Inside Politics Sunday morning and discussed, among other issues, the topic of my article in this week’s magazine. There’s a divide within the administration about tariffs, China, and the goal of President Trump’s recent trade efforts.
Song of the Day—“High Speed” by Coldplay
