Promises must be kept as Trump and Kim agree on new era for old enemies
Pledges by the United States and North Korea to work towards a ‘stable and lasting peace’ have raised much optimism, but it could be a decade or more before the peninsula is determined to be nuclear-free
Kim Jong-un and Donald Trump have said that the agreement they signed in Singapore yesterday will lead to a new era in relations for their countries.
Their firm handshake and broad smiles on meeting with a backdrop of North Korean and American flags was certainly historic; not before had the leaders of the enemy nations met and a year ago, amid threats and insults, it was unimaginable.
But an extraordinary series of events culminated in the two men and their officials holding talks on the resort island of Sentosa and they have clinched what they claim is the basis for a new beginning. It is to be fervently hoped that they and their countries remain true to what they have signed and work tirelessly towards its implementation.
Trump spoke of the deal as being “very comprehensive”, but it is vague and lacking in detail, requiring rounds of future negotiations to flesh out. Included in the declaration were pledges for new relations between Pyongyang and Washington, a “stable and lasting peace” between the two Koreas and most challenging of all, a commitment by North Korea to work towards “the complete denuclearisation of the Korean peninsula”.
