By Prof Michel Chossudovsky
Global Research, March 10, 2018
Url of this article:
https://www.globalresearch.ca/
According
to reports, this decision was taken spontaneously by president Trump
following discussions in the Oval Office with a South Korean delegation
headed by ROK National Security Advisor Chung Eui-yong on March 8:
In a stunning turn of events, Trump personally intervened in a security briefing intended for his top deputies, inviting the South Korean officials into the Oval Office, where he agreed on the spot to a historic but exceedingly risky summit with North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un. (WP, March 9, 2018)
Trump
announced his decision on the driveway outside the West Wing of the
White House to the media, which was immediately broadcast live on TV
networks Worldwide.
Sanctions
would remain in place. The underlying focus would be to demand that the
DPRK abandon its nuclear weapons program. According to White House
sources, President Trump would require “concrete steps and concrete
actions” by North Korea prior to the conduct of the proposed summit.
On Friday 9 March, Trump announced that a deal with North Korea was “very much in the making”. In the words of Rex Tillerson, it was Trump that took the decision:
“In terms of the decision to engage with President Trump and Kim Jong Un, that’s a decision the president took himself, … He’s expressed it openly before about his willingness to meet with Kim Jong Un, so now I think it’s a question of agreeing on the timing of that first meeting between the two of them and a location.” (quoted in the WSJ, March 9, 2018)
North-South inter-Korean Peace Talks
North-South
inter-Korean peace talks were initiated on January 9th, pursued
throughout the Winter Olympics. What was revealed were the public
statements of South Korea’s president Moon, the major events surrounding
the Olympics including the inauguration ceremonies pointing to ties of
friendship and solidarity between the two Koreas.
Several
media described the inter-Korean dialogue as a “slap in the face” to
Washington, which attempted to sabotage the North-South talks. In what
was described as “A War against the Peace”, the Pentagon responded by
threatening a “Bloody Nose” operation using tactical nuclear weapons
against North Korea. US threats emanating from the White House were also
directed against the South Korean government of President Moon,
intimating that restrictions on bilateral trade and investment against
the ROK would be contemplated.
What
was no revealed to the public were the discussions (of an entirely
different nature) behind closed doors of North and South Korean
officials as well as the role of US intelligence in these negotiations.
The CIA has a close and overlapping working relationship with its ROK counterpart The Korea Central Intelligence Agency (KCIA) (now
referred to as The National Intelligence Service). The KCIA created in
1961 during the US sponsored military regime of President Park
Chung-hee, has consistently acted as a de facto subsidiary of the CIA.
In
turn, the KCIA has developed a bilateral working relationship with its
North Korean intelligence counterparts. Prior and in the course of the
Winter Olympics, several key bilateral meetings were held between key
national security and intelligence officials of North and South Korea.
South Korean President Moon Jae-in’s National security adviser Chung Eui-yong was
put in charge of the negotiations in Pyongyang, officially acting on
behalf of South Korea, but also (indirectly) on behalf of the United
States.
On March 6-7, (local time), Chung Eui-yong, together
with four other senior ROK officials met up with the DPRK leadership in
Pyongyang. The delegation was also received at a State dinner with the
Kim Jong-un.
The ROK delegation also included Suh Hoon,
head of the ROK’s National Intelligence Service (KCIA), who was
appointed by President Moon in May 2017. His appointment had been
approved by Washington.
While KCIA Chief Suh Hoon had
previously worked on a mandate geared towards dialogue and peace on
behalf of the Kim Dae-jung and Roh Moo-hyun administrations, and now on
behalf of President Moon government, he nonetheless has routine
consultations with CIA director Michael Pompeo. It is highly unlikely
that Suh Hoon and Chung Eui-yong would have acted without consulting
their counterparts in Washington, namely CIA Director Mike Pompeo and National Security Adviser General H. R. McMaster.
The
debriefing meeting in the Oval Office (March 8) with Chung Eui-yong and
Suh Hoon was carefully scheduled immediately following the talks in
Pyongyang on March 6-7. According to the Korean Times:
Chung is likely to play the role of messenger between Pyongyang and Washingtonfor their talks on denuclearization. Chung and Suh will visit Washington soon after they come back from Pyongyang.Suh is Moon’s top strategy maker on North Korea issues and one of the President’s closest aides who helped him draw up his peace overture plans.Under the former liberal Kim Dae-jung and Roh Moo-hyun administrations, Suh was a member of the teams that led the first and second inter-Korean summits in 2000 and 2007, respectively. He met former North Korean leader Kim Jong-il, Kim Jong-un’s father, on several occasions during the summits.Suh was a member of the National Security Council and was in charge of North Korea strategy at the NIS under the Roh government, having experience in negotiating with high-ranking North Korean officials at many meetings. He was a member of Moon’s election camp for both the 2012 and the 2017 presidential elections.As the head of the spy agency, Suh has a close communication channel with U.S. CIA Director Mike Pompeo. It was the two spy agencies that mediated the meeting between U.S. Vice President Mike Pence and Kim Yo-jong during their stays in South Korea in early February, although the meeting was cancelled at the last minute. (Korean Times, March 10, 2018, emphasis added)
The Decision to Meet Kim Jong-un
In all likelihood Trump’s decision was approved at the highest levels of US intelligence.
There
was nothing spontaneous in Trump’s statement. It was staged. No doubt
he had been advised by both Pompeo and McMcmaster. His announcement
followed the briefing by the head of the South Korean Delegation, ROK
National Security Advisor Chung Eui-Yong, who had led
the mission to Pyongyang on March 6. Mr Chung briefed president Trump,
who immediately and spontaneously confirmed his decision.
The
tone of Mr. Chung’s statements were skilful and diplomatic, praising
president Trump, intimating that the ROK delegation to Pyongyang was in
fact also acting (indirectly) on behalf and in consultation with
Washington.
From
his statement (see below) it would appear that the North Korean
leadership is prepared to cave in to US demands. He also congratulated
President Trump for his “maximum pressure policy” directed against the
DPRK leadership:

Transcript
Transcript
CHUNG: Good evening. Today, I had the privilege of briefing President Trump on my recent visit to Pyongyang, North Korea. I’d like to thank President Trump, the Vice President, and his wonderful national security team, including my close friend, General McMaster.I explained to President Trump that his leadership and his maximum pressure policy, together with international solidarity, brought us to this juncture. I expressed President Moon Jae-in’s personal gratitude for President Trump’s leadership.I told President Trump that, in our meeting, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un said he is committed to denuclearization. Kim pledged that North Korea will refrain from any further nuclear or missile tests. He understands that the routine joint military exercises between the Republic of Korea and the United States must continue. And he expressed his eagerness to meet President Trump as soon as possible.President Trump appreciated the briefing and said he would meet Kim Jong-un by May to achieve permanent denuclearization.The Republic of Korea, along with the United States, Japan, and our many partners around the world remain fully and resolutely committed to the complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula. Along with President Trump, we are optimistic about continuing a diplomatic process to test the possibility of a peaceful resolution.The Republic of Korea, the United States, and our partners stand together in insisting that we not repeat the mistakes of the past, and that the pressure will continue until North Korea matches its words with concrete actions. (source: White House)
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Copyright © Prof Michel Chossudovsky, Global Research, 2018