Thread by @NoonInKorea

Ex-Korea specialist at State Dept Joseph Yun thinks NK and the US failed to reach an understanding re not only CVID but details of denuclearization, verification and normalizing relations between the 2 countries: "There seems to be no timeline whatsoever" yonhapnews.co.kr/nk/2018/06/26/…

"Before verification there has to be an inventory of materials to be phased out. We need that discussion ASAP." Yun adds the summit succeeded in reducing tensions but the underlying problem wasn't dealt with and the US is essentially following China's "freeze-for-freeze" proposal

Re whether NK could denuclearize by 2020 when Trump's 1st term ends: "It's always possible but NK isn't telegraphing any of that right now." Nonetheless he does hope, "This time it's really different: KJU did frankly tells us several times that he desires economic development."

Yun isn't sure whether declaring an end to the Korean War is appropriate at this stage: "It's not certain NK even wants that now." He adds he wasn't involved in any such talks with NK during his State Dept tenure which ended in March, when he resigned
asiae.co.kr/news/view.htm?…

What does Yun think of the joint statement issued in Singapore? "It's a weak communique any way you look at it. You got to ask why the 2 sides only got this far. There is an obvious victor here. NK probably resisted putting any details into the communique"
news.hankyung.com/article/201806…

But Yun feels it was a historic occasion and happened only 2 wks ago so it may be too early to tell. Yun was at the Jeju Forum ("Re-engineering Peace for Asia") w/ panelists Ban Ki-mun, Brian Mulroney, UNESCO head Audrey Azoulay & ex-Japan PM Yasuo Fukuda
news.joins.com/article/226604…

Yun's opinion on stopping US-SK exercises: "We must think what effect that will have on allies. There was no prior indication of this. This is worrisome from the viewpoint of US-SK relations. It could be a serious problem if relations between the 2 countries suffer due to this"

How can you tell if NK is serious about denuclearizing? Yun: "When NK provides a complete inventory of all nuclear materials and weapons in its possession will we have some idea. But that hasn't happened yet. Until that happens, we have no idea what we are negotiating with NK."

The guy above next to the former Canuck PM is José Ramos-Horta, ex-East Timor president who won Nobel Prize in 1996. There's another Nobel winner in Jeju: Paul Krugman. What does he know about "Peace in Asia?" He'll prolly talk about the looming trade war
alternet.org/news-amp-polit…

Yun: "We're looking for a sign that KJU is serious about changing the course of NK. I saw no such sign. The language used in the joint statement re denucearization is the same language NK used in the past. There was no sign they're seriously changing."

We thought there were extended discussions between Sung Kim and Choe Son-hui. What happened? "The US side typically wants as strong a statement as possible but the NK side wants as general a statement as possible. So we ended up with a general statement"

Yun again being talked about. Pompeo already told SK Foreign Minister Kang that he's understaffed. Right now he's his own envoy but Pompeo needs a point man dealing exclusively with NK: “This is like going to the World Series with nobody in the bullpen”
politico.com/story/2018/06/…