How to Score the U.S.-DPRK Hanoi Summit
Sang Hyun Lee
Summary: U.S. President Donald Trump and Chairman Kim Jong-un will soon meet for the 2nd U.S.-DPRK summit in Hanoi. How should we score the outcome of this historic meeting? The bottom-line for the success of the Hanoi summit is that it should contain substantial progress in relation to the Singapore statement last year. Most importantly, many experts envision a deal in which North Korea pledges complete and verifiable dismantlement of the Yongbyon nuclear facilities in exchange for a partial lifting of economic sanctions. At this stage, it is very important for South Korea to share the firm goal of ‘complete denuclearization’ of North Korea with key players in this negotiation. South Korea can contribute to make North Korea take further denuclearization measures by showing clearly the benefits of inter-Korean economic cooperation once North Korea makes serious progress in their denuclearization efforts.