Well, it happened. As the pictures above show, Kim Jong-Un and Donald Trump actually met in Singapore.
I wish I could say that nothing was accomplished, because that would be a big improvement over what did happen. While Trump is trying to say the summit was good for both countries, that is simply not true. The summit produced a clear winner and a clear loser.
The clear winner was Kim Jong-Un. The pictures above were flashed around the world. They portray him as an important leader -- important enough to force a face-to-face meeting and negotiation with the leader of the most powerful nation in the world (both militarily and economically). They enhance his reputation beyond his wildest dreams. This is especially true in North Korea, where it greatly enhances his ability to hold on to power. Trump added to Kim Jong-Un's victory by saying he was "honored" to meet him, that he was a "talented" person, and that he "trusted" him.
The clear loser was Donald Trump. Trump has repeatedly said that nothing short of complete denuclearization of the Korean peninsula could be considered a success of the talks. While he got a vague and meaningless agreement signed, he did not get what he went to Singapore to get.
Does North Korea still have nuclear weapons? YES
Is there a timetable for them to give up those weapons? NO
Is there a binding agreement for North Korea to give up its nuclear weapons? NO
Is there a binding agreement for North Korea to stop research and testing on its nuclear weapons program? NO
Did North Korea agree to stop testing its long-range missiles and give them up? NO
Did North Korea agree to stop its plutonium and uranium enrichment programs? NO
In other words, Trump got nothing that he promised he would get. And then, making matters even worse, Trump tossed in a "freebie" -- he promised to stop the joint military exercises in that area, claiming they would be "provocative" to his new buddy.
Donald Trump met with a tin-pot dictator, and he got played. The conman got conned. The "great negotiator" failed -- again.
