US President Donald Trump to Meet North Korean Leader Kim Jong Un in May 2018

Yes, the news is 100% right, the two arc rivals North Korea and United States of America are meeting very soon, if the recent developments are to be believed. North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has recently invited US President Donald Trump to meet him and Trump has accepted the invitation to discuss the future of the embattled regime’s nuclear and missile programme, the meeting is scheduled to take place in May this year.

If the meeting takes place it would be the first ever between leaders and known rivals. North Korea has sought such a summit with the US since long. Bill Clinton came close to agreeing to a meeting with Kim’s father, Kim Jong-il, in 2000, but arrangements had not been made by the time and he left office in January 2001. Since then no meeting between the two countries took place.

The invitation from North Korea is seen as a victory for Trump’s policy of “maximum pressure” and US had already made it clear that it would not relax its stringent sanctions before North Korea began disarming.

Trump himself made the confirmation about the invitation and his acceptance for the meeting in a tweet, adding that the development was “great progress” but that sanctions will remain in place until a firm agreement is reached. But North Korea has not issued any official comment yet.

The development occurred with the mediation of South Korea. Senior South Korean officials under the leadership of National security adviser Chung Eui-yong are in Washington to hand over the letter from the North Korean Leader to President Trump and conveyed that the Korean Leader Kim is ready to halt nuclear and missile tests and is committed to denuclearisation, as they have met Kim Jong un earlier this week and who conveyed his wish to them.

It is a major breakthrough after months of threats and violence between US and North Korea. South Korean National security adviser Chung Eui-yong, speaking outside the White House after meeting with the US President Donald Trump, said “I told President Trump that at our meeting, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un said he is committed to denuclearisation and want to meet US President as early as possible. US President Trump have conveyed that he would meet Kim Jong-un by May to achieve permanent denuclearisation.”

Let us now try to understand how both the enemy country’s agreed to reach to this point of meeting. On the international stage North Korea has been isolated because of its pursuit of nuclear weapons, in defiance of international laws and human rights abuses.

Though North Korea has always justified its nuclear designs by saying that the country needs nuclear weapons and missiles because its survival is under threat. After taking over the reign of North Korea, Kim has dictated and carried out six nuclear tests, though it's still unclear whether it could carry out a long-distance nuclear attack.

Recently, South Korea hosted the Winter Olympics, which gave an unexpected opening of windows for diplomacy, where both the Korea initiated talks followed by the visit of the South Korea delegation to North Korea and meeting with the North Korea’s dictator, earlier this week. It is during this meeting North Korea declared its wish to denuclearise its nuclear settlements and willingness to meet US President Trump.

This can be notified as a major victory of President Trump, as he has repeatedly belittled Kim Jong-un and also threatened him with fire and fury last year, such virtual fights was never seen before. He at times said there is no point in talking to North Korea. But experts are of the view that Trump's "maximum pressure policy" which had finally brought the parties to this point.

South Korea has also credited international solidarity for reaching this point. That is likely in part a reference to international sanctions, which have increased with each North Korean show of force. China, North Korea's main economic supporter, has in recent months toughened up its dealings with the North, including on key areas like petroleum and oil. This is thought to be putting a major strain on the North. 

In the past the talks between the two countries have failed miserably. No sitting US president has ever met a North Korean leader, but there have been repeated attempts to get North Korea to denuclearise. The last major effort - the Six Party talks collapsed in 2008, largely because North Korea refused to allow inspectors to verify that it had shut down its nuclear programme.

There have been no significant negotiations between the US and North Korea since 2012, when the two sides agreed a short lived deal exchanging a moratorium on long range missiles and nuclear weapons activity in return for food aid. The agreement fell apart after Pyongyang launched a satellite with a powerful rocket that could be used in a missile. 

An earlier deal struck in 1994 lasted considerably longer but fell apart as a result of mutual distrust. It is far from clear that any new deal would be any more enduring. North Korean view of denuclearisation of the Korean peninsula has historically entailed the dissolution of US guarantees to defend South Korea that it would defend its ally with nuclear weapons if necessary.

It is also important to note that North Korea has not yet promised to abandon its nuclear weapons completely. It also remains unclear exactly what it is asking for in return. But, now with the new development over the few weeks, everyone is hopeful that this time the two leaders will meet and solve the issue amicably leaving aside the nuclear tensions, forever.