Opinion: President Trump showed strength by pulling out of North Korea summit

(Sinclair Broadcast Group)

WASHINGTON (Sinclair Broadcast Group) - President Trump sent a cordial letter to North Korean Leader Kim Jong Un ON Thursday and pulled out of the planned summit with North Korea.

Diplomats from the United States and North Korea had been in the middle of preparing for the meeting, which was scheduled for June 12 in Singapore.

The United States has been pressing for complete denuclearization by North Korea. In turn, North Korea needs to have worldwide sanctions against it lifted in order to survive.

In the middle of all of that, North Korean officials threatened the United States with a nuclear showdown and also personally attacked Vice President Mike Pence, calling him a "political dummy."

The North Koreans were likely maneuvering to gain strength ahead of the meeting. They expected that, like previous American leaders, President Trump would not call their bluff.

They were wrong.

President Trump did not bend to North Korea’s aggressive tone and now the leverage is fully on his side. North Korea needs the sanctions to end sooner rather than later. If they do not, and the looming economic disaster comes, Kim Jong Un’s people are very likely to revolt and throw him out.

Think of what happened to Muammar Gadaffi in Libya.

The letter keeps the door wide open for Kim Jong Un to scale down the rhetoric, reach back out the United States and have the meeting take place.

Here is the bottom line: President Trump showed American resolve and strength by unilaterally cancelling the meeting with Kim Jong Un. Having said that, if North Korea comes back to its senses and does want to talk I can absolutely see a summit happening either as planned or shortly thereafter.


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