U.S., North Korea Trade Blame for Failed Summit
Jonathan Cheng, Vivian Salama, and Timothy Martin | Wall Street Journal
The U.S. and North Korea blamed each other for their failure to reach an agreement at their second summit aimed at curbing Pyongyang’s nuclear-weapons program, leaving uncertain one of President Trump’s signature foreign policy issues. Mr. Trump said North Korea sought sanctions relief without offering enough in return while the North’s Foreign Minister Ri Yong Ho said Pyongyang made reasonable proposals for partial sanctions relief that the U.S. rejected. The summit’s unraveling demonstrated the perils of Mr. Trump’s preferred top-down approach to diplomacy, which meant the two sides rolled into Vietnam’s capital with fundamentally different expectations of the trade-offs that could lead to a deal—disagreements that would ordinarily be bridged during lower-level talks.
Imran Khan Says Pakistan Will Release Indian Pilot, Seizing Publicity in Showdown
Jeffrey Gettleman, Maria Abi-Habib, and Salman Masood | New York Times
Prime Minister Imran Khan of Pakistan announced on Thursday that his country would be releasing a captured pilot from India after days of military conflict, offering a way out of the crisis and seeking to position Pakistan as the cooler head in a confrontation that has put the world on edge. “In our desire of peace, I announce that tomorrow, and as a first step to open negotiations, Pakistan will be releasing the Indian Air Force officer in our custody,” Mr. Khan said. After hours of relative lull throughout Thursday, the gesture appeared to be a face-saving opening for both countries to head off a war. But Indian officials were guarded, saying that the pilot’s release would not necessarily end the crisis, which they said was rooted in Pakistan’s support of terrorist groups that strike at India.
South Korea, Japan Back Trump’s Decision to Walk Away from Nuclear Summit With Kim
F. Brinley Bruton | NBC News
Some of the countries living in fear of Kim Jong Un’s arsenal appeared to heave a collective sigh of relief Thursday even though President Donald Trump abruptly left the nuclear summit with North Korea without an agreement. The Hanoi meeting ended after Kim demanded that all economic sanctions against North Korea be lifted in return for concessions on Pyongyang's nuclear program. “We couldn't do that,” Trump later told reporters. Trump showing strength by walking away from the negotiating table was preferable to him meeting Kim's demands, according to Tomohiko Taniguchi, one of Japanese President Shinzo Abe's senior policy advisers. While Tokyo has long wanted a deal, ensuring it’s the right deal is crucial, Taniguchi said. “This ‘friendly walk-away’ was much better than giving a wrong signal to Kim Jong Un,” he added. “Mr. Trump succeeded in setting in place the kind of dynamics between the two — one begging and the other refusing.”
Top General Wants Key Nuclear Pact with Russia Expanded to Include New Weapons
Paul Sonne | Washington Post
The top general in charge of the American nuclear arsenal said he would like to see the primary arms-control treaty between the United States and Russia grow to encompass all nuclear weapons, instead of limiting a select few, as President Trump considers whether to renew the agreement. Air Force Gen. John E. Hyten, commander of U.S. Strategic Command, said the New START treaty benefits the American military by capping Russia’s baseline strategic nuclear force and offering “unbelievably important” insight, through inspections, into what Russia is doing. But Hyten warned that many of the nuclear systems Russia is introducing — including a thermonuclear torpedo and a hypersonic glide vehicle that President Vladimir Putin has touted in the past year — fall outside the restrictions of the treaty. So does Russia’s vast arsenal of small nuclear arms sometimes described as “battlefield” or “tactical” nuclear weapons.
Stay in Your Job, Iranian President Tells Moderate Ally Zarif
Parisa Hafezi and Bozorgmehr Sharafedin | Reuters
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani rejected his foreign minister’s resignation as “against national interests” on Wednesday, bolstering a moderate ally who has long been targeted by hardliners in factional struggles over the 2015 nuclear deal with the West. Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, a U.S.-educated veteran diplomat, announced his resignation on Monday in what an aide said was anger at being excluded from meetings that day with Syria’s president, who was visiting Tehran. Two days later, he was back with his position strengthened by the president’s endorsement as well as a chorus of support from moderate lawmakers, a senior Revolutionary Guards commander and, implicitly, Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.
Hanoi Summit Reflects Shortcomings of Trump’s Personalized Diplomacy
Ariel Levite | Axios
The meeting in Hanoi between President Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un ended abruptly on Thursday without any breakthrough on denuclearization, the issue of utmost concern to the U.S. and its regional allies. The big picture: For Trump, the error of relying on the power of his personal charm and negotiating skills over the counsel of intelligence and diplomatic experts was laid bare. Ultimately, effusive praise and promises of a brighter future could not shake Kim’s strategic conviction that nuclear weapons are key to his regime's survival. The summit publicly exposed the gulf that exists between North Korea's vision of denuclearization and that of practically every other country. Kim was willing to freeze the activity of only some nuclear facilities, but not all critical ones, and in return expected massive sanctions relief — a deal that Trump could not accept.