Walking the thin line between war and peace

After their summit last June failed to even dent the nuclear standoff in Northeast Asia, the world is expecting big things from the second meeting between United States President Donald Trump and North Korea’s leader Kim Jong-un, in Hanoi today and tomorrow.
The joint statement signed by both leaders in Singapore last year committed to establishing a new relationship and to building lasting peace on the Korean peninsula. North Korea pledged to work to denuclearise the peninsula, while both sides would help recover and repatriate the dead still missing from the 1950-53 war.
Despite those pledges, no significant progress has been made over the past eight months in defusing a crisis that continues to threaten world peace. Envoys from both sides have crossed the Pacific. US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has made repeated trips to Pyongyang, while senior North Korean official General Kim Yong-chol has visited Washington and New York. Diplomatic efforts ground to a halt in August and November as each side blamed the other for failures. From Washington’s point of view, denuclearisation has seen no significant progress despite North Korea’s apparent freeze on development. For Pyongyang, relations with the US have not drastically improved.
However, there has been no flare-up of tension on the Korean peninsula since June, with Pyongyang conducting no significant nuclear or missile tests. Prior to the Singapore summit, Pyongyang announced it would demolish its nuclear test site. A month after the summit, remains of US servicemen were returned to home soil.
It’s also important to note that inter-Korea relations have improved significantly over the past eight months. South Korea’s President Moon Jae-in visited the North last September and announced that Kim had expressed hope for another summit with Trump.
The North-South thaw continued when Seoul and Pyongyang opened liaison offices in the border city of Kaesong in September.
In November, the United Nations Security Council waived sanctions against Pyongyang, paving the way for the South to collaborate on the North rail project. The two also destroyed security posts in the demilitarised zone, long a symbol of mutual enmity.
Policymakers in Washington and Pyongyang may now seek more substantial gains during this week’s summit, but it would be premature to predict any substantial progress.
 At the very least, while the two leaders remain willing to talk, peaceful means to solve the nuclear crisis are still within reach.
The international community can thank Vietnam for its willingness to host the summit. Singapore did an excellent job last year and Vietnam, which is a key member of Asean, should prove a hospitable environment for the talks despite limits on freedom of expression in the communist-ruled state.
While Vietnamese are excited to be in the global spotlight this week, the “colour” that typically surrounds such events is missing, with Trump and Kim impersonators strictly banned. A bit more humour would be welcomed as a way to reduce tensions in Hanoi.     
Still, Vietnam’s contribution to international diplomacy these days is impressive. Leaders in Hanoi know very well that this week’s spotlight will not only lift Vietnam’s international profile but also that of Asean, whose chairmanship will pass from Thailand to Vietnam next year.
Of course, the host country has no direct influence over the summit’s outcome. But its hospitality can contribute to a relaxed atmosphere between Kim and Trump. 
With their choice of venues, the two leaders have also shown faith in Asean’s ability to host summits of global importance. Besides the United Nations, Asean is the only forum where the United States and North Korea have sat down to talk. The world is now watching – and hoping that this week’s meeting drags us farther from war and closer to lasting peace on the troubled peninsula.