Iran pullout a message to North Korea
U.S. President Donald Trump announces his intention to withdraw from the JCPOA Iran nuclear agreement during a statement in the Diplomatic Room at the White House in Washington, Tuesday (local time) / Reuters |
President Donald Trump's withdrawal from the Iran nuclear deal is a major setback to US negotiating credibility and will complicate efforts to reach an agreement with Pyongyang over its own more advanced weapons programme, analysts say.
Trump is set to hold a much-anticipated and unprecedented summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un in the coming weeks to negotiate over Pyongyang's arsenal, after it last year carried out by far its most powerful nuclear test to date and launched missiles capable of reaching the U.S. mainland.
But the US president Tuesday pulled Washington out of the 2015 accord with Teheran, pouring scorn on the "disastrous" agreement and describing it an "embarrassment" to the United States ― although European signatories and the IAEA say Iran has complied with its obligations.
Antony Blinken, who was deputy secretary of state under Barack Obama, said the White House move "makes getting to yes with North Korea that much more challenging".
"Why would Kim ... believe any commitments President Trump makes when he arbitrarily tears up an agreement with which the other party is complying?" he asked on Twitter.
MIT political science professor Vipin Narang added: "Today is a stark reminder across the world: Deals are reversible and can have expiration dates, while nuclear weapons can offer lifetime insurance."
North Korea remains technically at war after the 1950-53 Korean War ended with a ceasefire rather than an armistice, and Pyongyang has long insisted that it needs nuclear weapons to defend itself from a possible U.S. invasion.
Two weeks ago Trump's new national security advisor John Bolton said "We have very much in mind the Libya model," for the denuclearisation of North Korea.
Libyan leader Moamer Kadhafi agreed to abandon his pursuit of nuclear weapons in the early 2000s, but his government was later overthrown by rebel forces supported by Western air strikes, and he was killed.
Pyongyang regularly cites the fates of Kadhafi and Saddam Hussein in Iraq ― whose government was overthrown in a U.S.-led invasion ― as evidence of the need for nuclear arms.
Former CIA director John Brennan said Trump's "madness" had "undermined global confidence in U.S. commitments, alienated our closest allies, strengthened Iranian hawks, & gave North Korea more reason to keep its nukes".
Some were more sanguine.
US exit from Iran deal threatens South Korean economy 2018-05-09 16:23 | Economy Trump declares US leaving 'horrible' Iran nuclear accord 2018-05-09 08:10 | World US exit from Iran deal may affect South Korea's oil imports 2018-05-09 15:53Pyongyang was concerned about the sustainability of a deal and sees democratic changes of government as a "structural weakness that imperils agreements by any one White House", said Yonsei University professor John Delury.
But he added: "They'd be worried less about Trump pulling out of a deal than his successor."
Security guarantee
The unilateral nature of Trump's move is also likely to worry officials at the Blue House in Seoul.
The decision was made despite repeated personal pleas by European leaders and cast aside more than a decade and a half of careful diplomacy by Britain, China, France, Germany, Iran, Russia and past US administrations.
South Korean President Moon Jae-in has been widely praised for seizing the opportunity presented by the Winter Olympics to broker talks between Trump and Kim ― two leaders who were at loggerheads just months before, and threatening to wage a war which would inevitably devastate the South.
But the fate of the Iran deal suggests Trump could also dismiss pleas from Seoul ― a treaty ally ― in future.
Analysts pointed to Kim's repeated trips to China as evidence Pyongyang was looking for support from its longstanding diplomatic protector and provider of trade and aid.
Kim met President Xi Jinping this week for the second time in little more than a month, after not paying his respects to him for six years after taking power as their relationship frayed.
"North Korea has been fully aware of the risks of the US walking away from any deal whenever its government changes hands," said Koh Yu-hwan of Dongguk University told AFP.
"In order to hedge against this eventuality, Kim Jong Un met Xi Jinping twice to obtain a firmer security guarantee from China before he enters a deal with the U.S."
And Pyongyang wanted wider assurances, he added.
According to China's official Xinhua news agency, Kim told Xi that "relevant parties" should "abolish their hostile policies and remove security threats against the DPRK".
"This means the North is seeking a global commitment to a deal with the U.S. to prevent the U.S. from unilaterally rolling it back," Koh told AFP. (AFP)
(责任编辑:资讯)
- The local version of Project 2025 is already causing devastation.
- Check out new exclusive art from Season 2 of Amazon's 'The Man in the High Castle'
- Over 70% South Koreans back cultural exchanges with North Korea
- 四大版块,精彩不断!快来打卡2024广东省“绿书签行动”宣传周活动
- The Apple iPod: Pocket Music Before That Phone
- Footage of Kim Yo
- [Weekender] The police officer's daily grind
- [Weekender] The police officer's daily grind
- Millie Bobby Brown's Golden Globes Instagram post about Drake is 11/10
- Webb telescope discovers 6 rogue worlds. They didn't form the way you'd expect.
- Check out new exclusive art from Season 2 of Amazon's 'The Man in the High Castle'
- Woman pens open letter to Instagram because her feed is inundated with bras
- Cole Sprouse from 'Riverdale' gave his brother a very interesting Christmas gift
-
Upgrade Your Monitor, Not Your GPU
Stop! If you're thinking of upgrading your gaming PC setup, don't buy that overpriced graphics card ...[详细] -
Amazon's Echo Connect brings phone calls to the Echo
Amazon's Echo speakers are about to get a new superpower: phone calls.The company just unveiled a ne ...[详细] -
Amazon's Echo Connect brings phone calls to the Echo
Amazon's Echo speakers are about to get a new superpower: phone calls.The company just unveiled a ne ...[详细] -
The best part about Chrissy Teigen's peculiar LAX flight is this insane conspiracy theory
When Chrissy Teigen and John Legend (and a bunch of other people) boarded a plane to Tokyo from LA, ...[详细] -
Abrar Ahmed returns as Pakistan names squad for second Test against Bangladesh
ListentoarticlePakistan has announced its 12-member squad for the second Test against Bangladesh, se ...[详细] -
WhatsApp begins rolling out video calling feature, but there's a catch
You already send text messages and make voice calls with WhatsApp, now you can also make video calls ...[详细] -
North Korea says taking 'technical measures' to dismantle nuclear test site
In this Sept. 3, 2017 file photo, a man watches a TV news program on a public screen showing an imag ...[详细] -
6 reasons Trump should stay away from longer tweets
President Donald Trump seems to enjoy the inflammatory 140-character dispatches that he quickly (and ...[详细] -
Smiley face on Mars is a telltale sign of its past
Mars didn't lose all its water without a fight.The planet, today 1,000times drier than the driest de ...[详细] -
What to expect from Microsoft's big event on Wednesday
Did you think we were done with tech events and you could just cruise on until Black Friday and the ...[详细]
Project 2025 Comstock Act: Trump’s new abortion comment exposed.
US offers to help Pyongyang's economy if it 'quickly' denuclearizes
- Cicadas love to land on people. Experts explain why.
- Defectors juggle mixed sentiments on Korean detente
- Trippier becomes first signing under Newcastle's new Saudi owners
- 海报|就是今天!一同锁定白云吴川联合招商推介会
- This shark lives for centuries. Scientists discover how it resists aging.
- US offers to help Pyongyang's economy if it 'quickly' denuclearizes
- Katy Perry, John Mayer and Taylor Swift all attended Drake's birthday party