It was surprising that the U.S.-North Korea summit made a quantum jump to writing a blueprint for the construction of a new regime in the Korean Peninsula based on the improvement of their relations, going far beyond the beginning of the dialogue between the United States and North Korea. The leadership of U.S. President Donald Trump and South Korean President Moon Jae-in as well as North Korean leader Kim Jong Un is commendable.
I was personally impressed by America's paternalistic stance shown in its diplomatic exchanges with North Korea preceding the summit and Trump's apparent exhilaration at his press conference. It is inconceivable that North Korea, militarily dependent mainly on nuclear weapons and missiles, and lagging desperately behind in economic development, could dare to renege on the agreement without gravely jeopardizing its own interests. After all the North Korean economy is as small in scale as a municipalities in either America or Japan.
The task to denuclearize North Korea with its considerable nuclear arsenal is far more difficult and complicated than tackling the Libyan or the Iranian cases. It is unclear whether future negotiations between Trump and Kim will bring about a non-porous agreement on the complete, verifiable and irreversible denuclearization (CIVD) of North Korea, However, it is important that this summit has disclosed that North Korea attaches the highest priority to its relations with the U.S. There seems to be little ground to believe that North Korea, cherishing its "juche" (self-reliance) policy, would forfeit the emerging establishment of good relations with America in favor of dubious partnerships with China, with whom the relationship has been historically delicate, or with far more opportunistic Russia.