Trump’s NoKo/China Walkout Strategy
“Basically, they wanted the sanctions lifted in their entirety, and we couldn’t do that.”
“Sometimes you have to walk,” said President Donald Trump after walking out of a summit meeting with North Korean despot Kim Jong-un. In a move reminiscent of Ronald Reagan’s stand at Reykjavik in 1986, Trump concluded that Kim was insufficiently willing to move on some key negotiating points, so he left.
“It was about the sanctions,” Trump said. “Basically, they wanted the sanctions lifted in their entirety, and we couldn’t do that. They were willing to denuke a large portion of the areas that we wanted, but we couldn’t give up all of the sanctions for that.” He added, “I’d much rather do it right than do it fast. We’re in position to do something very special.”
In other words, he was not looking for a Barack Obama-style legacy check mark like the disastrous Iran nuke deal.
As we have said many times, these nuclear negotiations are closely tied to trade negotiations with Kim’s puppet masters in Beijing. So while talks were stalling in Hanoi with Kim, The Wall Street Journal reports, “In the strongest sign yet that an accord is near, U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer said Wednesday that the U.S. was abandoning for now its threat to raise tariffs to 25% on $200 billion of Chinese goods.”
Both moves are part of Trump’s bigger strategy to keep pressure on China and North Korea alike. Always keep that in mind when the Leftmedia treats them as entirely separate issues.