[Both leaders will face greater pressure from hard-line officials in their governments to dig in. For Mr. Trump, facing criminal and civil investigations at home, maintaining public support is a growing concern, while Mr. Kim has long used the nuclear program to justify his government’s totalitarian rule and explain its weak economy.]
By Edward Wong
 |
|
President
Trump and Kim Jong-un, North Korea’s leader, ended their second summit
meeting early
on Thursday after they failed to agree on steps toward lifting
sanctions and denuclearization
Credit Doug Mills/The New York Time
|
“Sometimes
you have to walk,” Mr. Trump said at an afternoon news conference in Hanoi, the
capital of Vietnam.
He
said Mr. Kim had offered to dismantle the North’s most important nuclear
facility if the United States lifted the harsh sanctions imposed on his nation
— but would not commit to do the same for other elements of its weapons
program. That, Mr. Trump said, was a dealbreaker.
“It
was about the sanctions,” Mr. Trump said. “Basically they wanted the sanctions
lifted in their entirety, but we couldn’t do that.”
But
in a late-night news conference in Hanoi, North Korea’s foreign minister, Ri
Yong-Ho, contradicted Mr. Trump’s account, saying the North had asked only for
some sanctions to be lifted — those that affect ordinary people — in exchange
for “permanently and completely” dismantling the facility in question.
“Given
the current level of trust between North Korea and the United States, this was
the maximum step for denuclearization we can offer,” Mr. Ri told reporters,
according to South Korea’s Yonhap news agency.
The
premature end to the negotiations leaves the unusual rapprochement between the
United States and North Korea that has unfolded for most of a year at a
deadlock, with the North retaining both its nuclear arsenal and facilities
believed to be producing additional fissile material for warheads.
It
also represents a major setback at a difficult political moment for Mr. Trump,
who has long presented himself as a tough negotiator capable of bringing
adversaries into a deal and had made North Korea the signature diplomatic
initiative of his presidency.
Even
as the talks began, Mr. Trump’s longtime lawyer and fixer, Michael D. Cohen,
was delivering dramatic and damaging testimony in Congress, accusing him of an
expansive pattern of lies and criminality.
Word
of the collapse of the Hanoi talks sent stocks lower in Asia, and Wall Street
futures were down as the opening bell neared.
Before
ending the news conference to fly back to Washington, Mr. Trump tried to put a
good face on the outcome. “This wasn’t a walkaway like you get up and walk
out,” he said. “No, this was very friendly. We shook hands.”
“There’s
a warmth that we have and I hope that stays,” he added.
Mr.
Trump said that Mr. Kim had pledged to maintain a halt on nuclear and ballistic
missile tests that is now in its 16th month, and that the negotiations would
continue.
But
further progress could be difficult now that Mr. Trump has broadcast that he
and Mr. Kim have staked out conflicting bottom lines.
Both
leaders will face greater pressure from hard-line officials in their
governments to dig in. For Mr. Trump, facing criminal and civil investigations
at home, maintaining public support is a growing concern, while Mr. Kim has
long used the nuclear program to justify his government’s totalitarian rule and
explain its weak economy.
On
his flight leaving Hanoi, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said officials had
worked through the previous night and into the morning to come up with terms
acceptable to both leaders.
“When
you are dealing with a country that is of the nature of North Korea, it is
often the case that only the most senior leaders have the capacity to make
those important decisions,” he said.
“We’ll
each need to regroup a little bit,” he added.
There
was no immediate statement from Mr. Kim or the North Korean government.
According
to the Americans, the sticking point turned on what it would take for the North
to begin dismantling a central part of its nuclear program — the Yongbyon
enrichment facility. Mr. Kim said he would do so only if all sanctions on his
country were lifted.
But
Mr. Trump and Mr. Pompeo said the North would have to dismantle other parts of
its program as well before the United States agreed to such a big concession.
In
response to a question, Mr. Trump acknowledged for the first time that his
administration was aware of a second enrichment site other than Yongbyon, but
it was unclear what role that played in the talks.
The
United States has long insisted that sanctions will be lifted only after North
Korea completely dismantles its nuclear program in a verifiable manner. There
was talk before the summit meeting, though, that Mr. Trump might agree to ease
sanctions in exchange for initial steps toward denuclearization by allowing
joint economic projects between North and South Korea.
It
was not immediately clear if Mr. Trump made such an offer or how Mr. Kim
responded.
The
collapse of the talks came in the aftermath of withering congressional
testimony in Washington by Mr. Cohen. “I think having a fake hearing like that
and having it in the middle of this very important summit is really a terrible
thing,” Mr. Trump told reporters.
The
first sign of the collapse of the talks came after morning meetings, when White
House officials said a working lunch and signing ceremony had been canceled.
The
White House then issued a statement saying that Mr. Trump and Mr. Kim had
“discussed various ways to advance denuclearization and economic-driven
concepts” during “very good and constructive meetings,” but failed to reach an
agreement.
“I
worry about the consequences,” said Jean H. Lee, a Korea expert at the Wilson
Center, a research organization in Washington. “Did these two leaders and their
teams build up enough good will to keep the lines of communication open, or are
we headed into another period of stalled negotiations — or worse, tensions —
that would give the North Koreans more time and incentive to keep building
their weapons program?”
“This
result leaves very little room for Kim to save face,” she added.
Officials
from both sides had hoped the Hanoi summit meeting would produce more concrete
results than the vague communiqué issued by the two leaders after their first
meeting last June in Singapore.
Since
that first encounter, American national security officials have said that
denuclearization should be the priority, while North Korea has pushed for
lifting of sanctions and improving relations with the United States and South
Korea first.
The
administration of President Moon Jae-in of South Korea appears to have agreed
with Mr. Kim that establishing a more stable peace is the first priority, and
it has been moving much faster than the United States in opening up
diplomatically to the North.
“It
is regrettable that they could not reach a complete agreement,” said Kim
Eui-kyeom, a spokesman for Mr. Moon. “But it also seems clear that both sides
have made more significant progress than ever.”
In
Tokyo, Shinzo Abe, prime minister of Japan, said he had spoken about the summit
meeting’s outcome with Mr. Trump. “I fully support President Trump’s decision
not to make the easy compromise,” he said, adding that he was determined to
meet Mr. Kim next.
The
collapse of the talks was a stark departure from the earlier mood of the
two-day gathering. On Thursday morning, Mr. Trump and Mr. Kim kicked off the
day by meeting one-on-one at the historic Metropole hotel, where they had had
an intimate dinner the previous night.
Before
the session began, Mr. Trump expressed a willingness to be patient given that
the North had suspended missile tests.
“I’ve
been saying very much from the beginning that speed is not that important to
me,” he said. “I very much appreciate no testing of nuclear rockets, missiles.”
Mr.
Trump also mentioned potential economic growth in North Korea three times in
his brief morning comments, saying that the country would become an “economic
powerhouse.”
The
message seemed clear — that integrating North Korea into the global economy would
help moderate the country’s behavior. Mr. Trump appeared ready to accept the
North’s arsenal if relations improved and it committed to surrendering it in
the long term.
Mr.
Kim, when asked by an American reporter whether he was ready to denuclearize, said,
“If I’m not willing to do that, I wouldn’t be here right now” — to which Mr.
Trump replied, “That might be the best answer you’ve ever heard.”
Mr.
Kim also suggested that he would accept an American liaison office in his
country.
Earlier,
the two leaders took a stroll by the pool, then went into the hotel restaurant
to chat privately. Separately, Mr. Pompeo met with his North Korean
counterpart, Kim Yong-chol, a top Communist Party official and former spy
chief.
After
the talks collapsed, the president said Mr. Pompeo was not satisfied with the
terms. Mr. Pompeo has taken the lead in the diplomatic talks and has been more
skeptical of Mr. Kim’s intentions than Mr. Trump.
Reporting
was contributed by David E. Sanger and Motoko Rich from Hanoi, Austin Ramzy
from Hong Kong, and Choe Sang-Hun from Seoul, South Korea.
