There is scant US press on this at the moment but several hours ago the Telegraph reported Donald Trump ‘accepts Kim Jong-un’s invitation to visit North Korea’.
“Kim Jong-un invited Trump to visit Pyongyang at a convenient time and Trump invited Kim Jong-un to visit the US,” KCNA reported.
“The two top leaders gladly accepted each other’s invitation, convinced that it would serve as another important occasion for improved DPRK-US relations,” the report added, using the official abbreviation for North Korea.
“Kim Jong-un said in order to achieve peace and stability of the Korean Peninsula and realise its denuclearisation, the two countries should commit themselves to refraining from antagonising… each other out of mutual understanding,” KCNA reported.
Current and former US defence officials expressed concern at the possibility the United States would unilaterally halt military exercises without an explicit concession from North Korea that lowers the threat from Pyongyang.
Body Language
There is an interesting video in that link on body language. I played others but that was the best one I could find. It does not embed.
Here is one that is more general, not related to to the visit with Kim.
Tweets
A year ago the pundits & talking heads, people that couldn’t do the job before, were begging for conciliation and peace – “please meet, don’t go to war.” Now that we meet and have a great relationship with Kim Jong Un, the same haters shout out, “you shouldn’t meet, do not meet!”
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 13, 2018
The World has taken a big step back from potential Nuclear catastrophe! No more rocket launches, nuclear testing or research! The hostages are back home with their families. Thank you to Chairman Kim, our day together was historic!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 13, 2018
I want to thank Chairman Kim for taking the first bold step toward a bright new future for his people. Our unprecedented meeting – the first between an American President and a leader of North Korea – proves that real change is possible! pic.twitter.com/yF3iwD23YQ
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 13, 2018
There is no limit to what NoKo can achieve when it gives up its nuclear weapons and embraces commerce & engagement w/ the world. Chairman Kim has before him the opportunity to be remembered as the leader who ushered in a glorious new era of security & prosperity for his citizens! pic.twitter.com/Xbup4Zyz33
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 13, 2018
Misguided Pundits
Misguided pundits bitch and moan that North Korea got a “better deal”.
For example Vox moans Trump just struck a shockingly weak deal with North Korea.
One person on Twitter (a chickenhawk) called Trump a coward.
My Take
The deal looks even better now than it did this morning
This is what I said 16 hours ago I commend Trump: Trump and Kim Jong Un Sign Agreement.
” I suspect many will think Trump caved in. I think this was Trump’s finest moment as president.“
I am an equal party basher. I have blasted Trump for weeks on end over his trade policy.
Many people will never be happy with Trump no matter what he does.
Everyone Wins
It doesn’t matter who got the better deal as long as both sides win, and both sides did win.
Trump agreeing to go to North Korea and Kim to the US is an amazing achievement.
Let the peace begin.
MIke “Mish” Shedlock
Not so fast. As an Asian I can confirm that what we talk and what we do are totally different. I don’t trust even my closest family members here.
What are you meant to do then? Apart from invade all countries deemed to be led by a dictator and kill them and foist democracy upon them which clearly has not worked very well! Also, mas murderer could be more readily applied to any US president since WWII in terms of numbers of people they are responsible for killing and especially in North Korea.
Its hard to respect many of the decisions of US presidents of the last 50 years, especially those that were well planned and informed by their experts. So for me, the proof is in the pudding. Let’s see how this pudding goes down.
freeing prisoners of war is a huge deal no one seems to mention.
if NK executed an american we would call for invasion. i think americans being freed stands as a powerful symbolic gesture and i can imagine some families are very happy today to have their loved ones home after so many decades.
dictator means extra-republican executive powers. learn some history.
Congratulations, Mish! You have earned a well-deserved pat on the back for your objectivity. In a world filled with shallow shills for the DNC, you are a thinker.
It seems that many people have never been involved in a real world negotiation — and don’t understand how circuitous the process can be, especially in a high-stakes multi-party negotiation like this one, where South Korea, China, Taiwan, Japan all also have skin in the game.
Yes that is an excellent article. Here is the link to it, if you can stand to navigate your way through all the ZH advertising:
Over at Zero hedge, whistle blower Peter Van Buren talked about the 5 myths the media has been peddling about the summit. Just more proof that the MSM is Fake news.
Kim Jong-un is a dictator (which means: mass murderer), and no President should be shaking hands with a dictator. Having said that, Progressives are showing how pathetic they are here: they criticize the President when he expresses military resolve towards an enemy, and they criticize the President for not magically denuclearizing a country during a 4-hour meeting. If the US isn’t weak and failing, they just don’t like it.
Yes, just as the Voters failed to listen to the “experts” when they elected him. What do you think Hillary would be doing right now? Dropping bombs on N Korea, of course. Kim would never trust her after Libya; “We came, we bombed, he died”. Democrats are totally two-faced: “OMG he’s going to start WWIII. Somebody talk them back from the brink!” Of course, as soon as Trump says he’s going to meet Kim, the Dems start saying it’s the worst thing ever, he’ll get taken to the cleaners. Hood-winked. Very dangerous move, etc.
Looks like Trump finally found a playmate cut from the same limelight seeking cloth as himself! Rather than the usual “low energy” bores, who insist on putting the audience to sleep, taking more than 5 seconds formulating responses to complex questions involving nuclear Armageddon…
They should agree to do a reality show together. “Nuts with Nukes!” They’d dominate primetime rankings world wide. There’s just no cliffhanger like one of these guys’ fingers hovering over “the button” at the end of every episode….
“Let the peace begin…” Indeed. We should start by disarming NATO then sack some of the idiots driving deep-state policy in the USA.
Maybe they will keep Trump in NK, for the good of the civilized world?
Great, they needed to make concrete plans like this to keep momentum going after the meeting. Kim visiting the US and Trump visiting DPRK is a good idea.
Still checking my overall optimism until this ball keeps rolling, and I still wonder what Bolton, Pompeo, Mattis, Kelly, and the rest are trying to do behind the scenes. There’s a reason why any path to peace is astonishing, given modern US history.