OPINION:
In December 1952, President-elect Dwight D. Eisenhower visited South Korea, during the brutal war with North Korea, for the first presidential summit of the leaders of our two countries. Now, President Trump follows in this tradition, welcoming newly elected President Lee Jae Myung to Washington for an important summit between two allies.
Eisenhower was determined to bring an end to the Korean War, which took the lives of tens of thousands of U.S. and South Korean military personnel and civilians. On July 27, 1953, the Korean Armistice Agreement was signed, halting the fighting, although the war continues till this day. A 2.5-mile buffer zone was created, separating the two Koreas.
The decades that followed the Korean War were tense, with a belligerent North Korea determined to threaten and provoke South Korea. Despite these provocations, South Korea was able to develop into a model liberal democracy with the 13th largest gross domestic product in the world.
The summit of these two recently elected presidents is timely. During the past seven months, Mr. Trump has shown the world that he is a proactive peacemaker, determined to help resolve conflicts afflicting a growing number of countries. We saw this with Pakistan and India, Armenia and Azerbaijan, Thailand and Cambodia, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Rwanda, Serbia and Kosovo, and Egypt and Ethiopia. Mr. Trump’s efforts to bring an end to the wars in Ukraine and Gaza continue.
Indeed, this will be an opportune time for Mr. Lee to brief Mr. Trump on his vision for South Korea, economically and geopolitically. And now that the tariff issue has been resolved with the U.S., South Korea’s second-largest trading partner, there should be sufficient time to address the nuclear threat from North Korea.
The Lee administration has reached out to North Korea, making it clear that the new president wants a good relationship with it. The response from the North has been negative, with the powerful sister of Kim Jong Un, Kim Yo Jung, making it clear that North Korea views South Korea as the enemy, eschewing peaceful reunification of the two Koreas.
Mr. Trump has a special relationship with Kim Jong-un, with the 2018 and 2019 summits in Singapore and Hanoi — and a symbolic demilitarized zone meeting — under his belt. Discussing the possibility of Mr. Trump reaching out to Mr. Kim no doubt will be discussed. This would also be a good time for Mr. Lee to explain what his administration will do, in addition to recently stopping broadcasts into North Korea and taking down the loudspeakers, to improve relations with North Korea.
North Korea’s new strategic relationship with Russia must be of considerable concern. Its mutual defense treaty with Russia and North Korean troops participating in Russia’s war of aggression in Ukraine are of concern, as are the ballistic missiles, artillery shells and other weaponry the North is providing to Russia. In return, of course, Russia is providing North Korea with satellite, nuclear, missile and other assistance. Indeed, Mr. Kim is building more nuclear weapons and missiles to deliver them as far as the U.S.
North Korea’s road-mobile, solid fuel Hwasong-19 is an intercontinental ballistic missile capable of reaching the whole of the U.S. This is the North Korea we’re dealing with. It’s the North Korea that views South Korea as the enemy, previously threatening to use tactical nuclear weapons against the South.
The reality is that North Korea’s new relationship with Russia could embolden Mr. Kim and incite him to do something provocative against South Korea, which we’ve seen in the past. This could escalate quickly.
Given the threat from North Korea, the 28,500 U.S. troops stationed in South Korea are a trip wire and help to deter North Korea from taking militarily action against the South. North Korea previously acted recklessly — and that was when it didn’t have nuclear weapons or a mutual defense treaty with Russia.
U.S. extended nuclear deterrence commitments are a core element of our allied relationship with South Korea. This summit will also permit the U.S. to double down on these nuclear umbrella commitments.
Currently, South Korea spends close to $1 billion to defray some of the cost for the stationing of U.S. troops in the South. That amount, no doubt, will also be discussed.
The list of issues to discuss between our two presidents is long. But permitting the new Lee government to articulate its approach to developments in the South and East China seas — and possible developments with Taiwan — will ensure clarity on a myriad of issues affecting both our countries.
This should be an excellent summit between two close allies.
• Joseph R. DeTrani is the former special envoy for Six Party Talks with North Korea and the former director of the National Counterproliferation Center. The views are the author’s and not those of any government agency or department.
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