Talks break off without deal

Beijing urges Pyongyang, Washington to maintain patience, continue dialogue

The much-anticipated second DPRK-US summit ended abruptly without an agreement on Thursday afternoon, an outcome analysts said resulted mainly from a lack of trust between Pyongyang and Washington.

US President Donald Trump said at a news conference following the meeting that the sanctions on the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea were the deal-breaker.

“Basically, they wanted the sanctions lifted in their entirety, but we couldn’t do that,” Trump said. He added that it “was not appropriate” considering the only partial denuclearization offer from the DPRK’s top leader Kim Jong-un.

Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi said on Thursday that China hopes Pyongyang and Washington can stay patient, continue dialogue, meet each other halfway and make unremitting efforts.

A political settlement to the Korean Peninsula nuclear issue through dialogue conforms to the common aspiration of the international community, including Pyongyang and Washington, he said.

Wang made the remarks when meeting with Ri Kil-song, vice-foreign minister of the DPRK, who traveled to China on Thursday for a visit.

Wang said the international community paid close attention to the summit between the leaders of the DPRK and the US that just concluded, according to a statement released by the Foreign Ministry.

It is unavoidable that the DPRK-US talks, which touch on deep-seated problems, will encounter various kinds of difficulties, he said.

Wang cited an ancient Chinese saying that setbacks cannot be avoided to realize good things, but the prospects are worth holding out hope for.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Lu Kang said China hopes the DPRK and the US will respect each other’s reasonable concerns and continue to show sincerity to promote the denuclearization and establishment of a peace mechanism on the peninsula.

The DPRK delegation didn’t release a statement after the breakdown of the summit.

Pyongyang’s state media, Korean Central News Agency, reported on Wednesday that the DPRK hoped the Kim-Trump summit would end the “evil cycle of confrontation”.

On Thursday, Yonhap News Agency said the Republic of Korea is “disappointed” at the outcome, as Seoul’s push for closer inter-Korean economic cooperation is likely to suffer a heavy setback.

Shi Yongming, a Beijing-based foreign affairs researcher, said he was not surprised to see the no-deal situation as neither side can agree with the other’s proposal.

Akira Kawasaki, a nuclear expert from the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons, also said the failure to reach a deal is not a surprise since the two sides lack basic trust and failed to properly prepare with concrete steps to achieve denuclearization.

“Washington and Pyongyang likely both demanded too much without considering the other’s position. In retrospect, if the unsuccessful diplomacy this time taught us anything, it is that denuclearization will not happen without first ending the hostility between the US and the DPRK,” he said.

But Kawasaki said the outcome of this summit is not a disaster, and he noted it is time for more regional and international parties to step in and promote a real plan to guarantee the progress made so far was not in vain.

Trump said that the Hanoi talks were not without progress, citing Kim’s promise to continue the suspension of nuclear and missile tests.

Trump and Kim started their Hanoi summit on Wednesday in what appeared to be a friendly atmosphere.

Before Thursday noon, the two leaders even talked positively about the establishment of a US liaison office in Pyongyang.

At the start of an expanded meeting, Kim told reporters that he was discussing “concrete denuclearization measures”.

“If I weren’t willing to do that, I wouldn’t be here right now,” Kim said in response to a question about whether he’s ready to denuclearize.

The positive mood then evaporated upon news that the two sides cut short their summit and a joint working lunch and signing ceremony were called off.

Then Trump abruptly moved up his news conference by two hours and his office released a brief statement.

“No agreement was reached at this time, but their respective teams look forward to meeting in the future,” said White House press secretary Sarah Sanders.

Trump left Hanoi for Washington on Thursday afternoon.

Zhou Jin and Liu Xuan in Beijing contributed to this story.