President Trump is gratified by the new letter he has received from North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.
[Related: Trump, Kim Jong Un have had ‘ongoing correspondence,’ White House confirms]
Thank you to Chairman Kim Jong Un for keeping your word & starting the process of sending home the remains of our great and beloved missing fallen! I am not at all surprised that you took this kind action. Also, thank you for your nice letter – l look forward to seeing you soon!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 2, 2018
To be sure, the repatriation of allied Korean War dead deserves Trump’s gratitude. Yet the president must restore his focus to a more pressing concern: Kim’s ongoing disinterest in the commitments he made on June 12 to dismantle his nuclear and intercontinental ballistic missile programs. Trump must do so because time is running out towards Kim’s successful completion of a competent nuclear-ICBM strike capability. In turn, Trump should write his own letter to Kim in order to move the diplomatic process forwards. Here’s what I believe the president should say.
Let me begin by thanking you for your kind letter and for your repatriation of our war dead. The latter commitment was one for which all Americans are grateful. For my part, I hope history will record your gesture as marking the end of past enmities between our two nations. I also remain hopeful of a new era in which North Korea finds stable prosperity and confident security under the Kim dynasty.
Yet, Mr. Chairman, I am concerned that our joint journey to a better future remains too slow and fraught with obstacles. To be precise, my government had hoped that you might by now have taken more steps to implement the framework agreed at our meeting in Singapore and reaffirmed in our discussions since. I was disappointed when my Secretary of State returned from his recent trip to Pyongyang in possession only of your media’s scorn. I have also been disheartened by your government’s continued covert development of ballistic missiles, its construction of warhead re-entry vehicles and targeting capabilities, and its broader investment in human and physical efforts to support those activities over the long term.
Each day these activities intolerably advance your ability to threaten my nation.
Sir, I recognize that the full implementation of our framework was always going to take some time. Nevertheless, I owe you my clarity as a partner and as an honored fellow leader: My government believes your present conduct reflects an unseriousness about our post-Singapore ambitions. Befitting that which you have previously said and the personal respect you have shown me and the families of those Americans lost decades ago, I hope that within the next two weeks my government will see new steps from your government towards implementing our framework agreement. To be specific, our current negotiations cannot continue in good faith alongside your scaled activities as noted in paragraph two of this letter.
Mr. Chairman, I seek a future of mutual security for our peoples and those of our respective allies. But I regret that I must remind you of the oath I have taken to defend my citizens and this nation. I look forward to hearing from you in due course.
My respect and optimism for our friendship,
Donald J. Trump
President of the United States of America
