Collapse of Talks

The second U.S.-North Korea summit between President Trump and Kim Jong-un in Hanoi, Vietnam, came to an abrupt close Thursday without any agreement being reached.

The Hanoi summit failed to meet the worldwide expectations to produce a more specific outcome than the first Trump-Kim summit in Singapore in June 2018, as the two sides were unable to narrow the persistent gap in their denuclearization negotiations.

Things started to look bad with the cancellation of a planned lunch and the signing of a joint statement that was supposed to be known as the Hanoi Declaration. The two leaders returned to their respective hotels Thursday afternoon after meetings earlier in the day.

The turn of events has shocked the world since the two leaders started their encounter in Vietnam on a very positive note. The two leaders kicked off their highly anticipated summit with friendly words for each other, with Trump emphasizing his "good relationship" with Kim. Kim stressed his determination for good results, saying he would not be there if he did not have the "will to denuclearize." But the talks looked shaky when they showed glaring differences, such as when Trump said he was in no hurry for denuclearization, but Kim said that for him, timing was important. Such discrepancies reflected the lack of sufficient coordination prior to the summit.

There are many factors that contributed to the summit's collapse, but the main reason is that the two sides failed to reach a realistic compromise. The U.S. has wanted North Korea to commit to more concrete measures for denuclearization, such as the verified dismantlement of its Yongbyon nuclear facilities and more. But Kim's priority lies in rebuilding North Korea's economy and demanding the lifting of...