Does the sunshine policy have a future?
Wednesday 27 February 2019.
The nuclear threats once traded by Donald Trump and Kim Jong-un over Twitter now seem like a distant memory. Today, the two leaders will meet in Hanoi, Vietnam, to continue their discussions about the denuclearisation of the Korean peninsula. The location is not insignificant. For North Korea, Vietnam represents a model of state-controlled economic development; for the US, it is a symbol of successful reconciliation, and a potential ally in its attempt to contain China. The first Trump-Kim summit, on 12 June 2018 in Singapore, produced a joint statement affirming their commitment to the denuclearisation of the Korean peninsula. This time, Kim Jong-un will ask for international sanctions to be lifted, and for a peace declaration to be signed.