Trump Tweets Confirmation That North Korea Will Denuclearize

President Donald Trump has once again restated his confidence that North Korean Supreme Leader Kim Jong-un will follow through with his promise to denuclearize his nation.

Trump blamed China for indicators that Kim will proceed otherwise.

Trump’s tweet came as a response to the general doubt regarding the future of North Korea’s nuclear plan, which has been strong since June’s summit.

The tweet read:

I have confidence that Kim Jong Un will honor the contract we signed &, even more importantly, our handshake. We agreed to the denuclearization of North Korea. China, on the other hand, may be exerting negative pressure on a deal because of our posture on Chinese Trade – Hope Not!”

There are many disreputable elements to this tweet, however. Trump referred to the joint statement which he and Kim Jong-un released as a “contract,” which is completely false. The statement mentioned that North Korea would remain committed to “work toward complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula,” yet there is no way to call this release a contract. There were no details shared regarding how or when North Korea would start to take action on this project.

The tweet also seems to contradict some of the statements which followed Secretary of State Mike Pompeo’s recent visit to Pyongyang. The meeting was targeted to solidify the countries’ friendship. However, North Korean officials accused Pompeo of engaging in “gangster-like” behavior when talking about denuclearization, and called the overall meeting ”unilateral” and “deeply regrettable.”

Pompeo apparently did not feel the same way, as he referred to the meeting as “productive.” He stated:

I saw some of the statements that came out, they were mixed, you haven’t reported on that, the mixed statements, but maybe you will now. The statements that were put out, Chairman Kim’s statement following our discussions, continued to express his desire to complete the denuclearization to which he is so committed”

Trump’s tweet also follows highly controversial satellite images which displayed one of North Korea’s nuclear facilities. The images showed that the facility’s infrastructure has undergone quick and drastic improvements. The facility’s plutonium production reactor was specifically upgraded. These improvements were followed by the construction of several support facilities.

The company that released the satellite images stated repeatedly that they are inconclusive and cannot be taken as indicators of the North Korea’s intentions. However, many political stated that they were not surprised by the development of the facility, as the agreement made in Singapore didn’t pressure North Korea to denuclearize immediately.

Trump’s recent tweet also comes as a response to criticism surrounding the fact that he compromised too much at the summit. The president, who has countless times prided himself on being an effective businessman, was too committed at the meeting. He promised to stop all military exercises on the North Korean peninsula and followed through with this promise almost immediately. In fact, Trump’s actions were unexpected, workers on South Korean military facilities were left feeling unsure as to how they were supposed to proceed.

Featured Image via Wikimedia Commons