Wednesday, June 13, 2018

Graves: Trump's meeting with Kim Jong-Un a great first step toward peace

(From Sixth District Congressman Sam Graves)

Seventy years after the “end” of the Korean conflict, a historic meeting - the first in history - took place this week in Singapore.

In reality, the war never ended. However, that could soon change.

President Trump and North Korean Chairman Kim Jong-Un came together in a historic summit seeking denuclearization of the communist country.

Trump’s meeting in Singapore leaves a real possibility that peace can eventually happen on the Korean Peninsula. This would be a tremendous accomplishment. At the same time, with many things uncertain, we must be cautious.

In the course of their meeting, President Trump and Kim Jong-Un agreed on four things.

The United States and North Korea committed to establish new relations between the two countries that haven’t ever existed. We will join together to help build a lasting and stable peace regime on the Korean Peninsula. President Trump and Kim Jong-Un reaffirmed that North Korea has committed to working toward complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula. Finally, the United States and North Korea committed to returning POW/MIA remains from the Korean War.

Let’s be clear. This is a great first step towards achieving a semblance of peace with North Korea. We’ve never been in this position before and I commend President Trump for getting us to this point. However, the work isn’t done.

We are dealing with a regime that is known for a lot of bad things and not many good things. We must keep that in mind and proceed cautiously. There have been times in the past when North Korea said they wanted to get rid of their nukes, but it didn’t happen. However, the President has made it clear that sanctions aren’t going anywhere until there are clear indicators that their nuclear capabilities have ceased. We must hold to that position until it is clear that they are making the necessary changes. As with other agreements related to nuclear capabilities, the United States must remember that no deal is better than a bad deal.

That being said, I am optimistic and excited for what could be. A final end to the Korean War would be a monumental achievement. In an effort to bring peace and prosperity to the Korean Peninsula and the world, negotiations will be ongoing. This could be a bright new future for the Korean Peninsula as President Trump said when he met with Kim Jong-Un. I will continue to monitor this developing situation hopeful that we can achieve a peace never before seen in most of our lifetimes.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Rope a dope!

https://www.axios.com/israel-casts-doubt-on-success-of-north-korea-summit-8a15d92d-6f4b-41a1-8bba-a8a68377f4b1.html

"A classified report from Israel's foreign ministry raises doubts over President Trump's optimistic statements about his summit with Kim Jong-un, and determines the U.S. retreated from its positions on several issues relating to North Korea's nuclear program.

Behind the scenes: The classified report, which I obtained a copy of, provides an initial analysis of the summit. It was circulated yesterday by the research department of the Israeli foreign ministry to all Israeli embassies around the world and to many senior officials at the Prime Minister's office and other government agencies."

Anonymous said...

Trump had better succeed in making North Korea our new ally. We will need them when he declares war against Canada to protect our national security.

Anonymous said...

The effing moron that is the president of these divided states calls Kim Jong Un a very smart, strong leader. In an interview on Faux news he says "Hey, he is the head of a country and I mean he is the strong head," Mr. Trump told Fox News' Steve Doocy on the White House lawn Friday. "Don't let anyone think anything different. He speaks and his people sit up at attention. I want my people to do the same." Later he says he was kidding, but since he is a narcissistic, egomaniacal pathological liar, we can believe he is lying again when he says he was "kidding". His kowtowing to despots and dictators such as Putin and Un is very alarming because, in his warped way of thinking they are projecting strength and leadership. Trump is deranged and needs to be impeached.