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Vladimir Putin should make the most of his summit with Kim Jong-un, and propose a modernisation-for-peace deal
- The US has failed to sell a denuclearisation deal to North Korea, so Russia’s president should take up the challenge, starting with setting the conditions for a modernisation fund
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Why you can trust SCMP
Time is no longer on North Korea’s side. The US-North Korea summit in Hanoi ended in a breakdown, with negotiations coming to an impasse. Having resumed weapons testing last week, Chairman Kim Jong-un has turned to another important, though often overlooked, regional player – his upcoming meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Vladivostok will be the first between heads of the two states since 2011.
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The United States does not have the capacity to guarantee a “bright future” for North Korea, nor does the Trump administration seem concerned for the future of North Korea after denuclearisation. Kim’s regional neighbours, however, certainly are.
While the resumption of weapons testing sends a provocative message to the US, talks with Russia may signal that Kim is ready to re-enter negotiations; the question is: will Putin turn this summit into a historic opportunity to resolve the nuclear conflict, or will he merely grant Kim the piecemeal, temporary survival he likely seeks?
Such strategies – cheating United Nations Security Council Resolution 2397 by requesting aid via rice, energy and deferred repatriation of workers on Russian soil – are not going to benefit North Korea, nor its neighbours, in the long term.
Putin, who understands the threat that a security vacuum in a suddenly-denuclearised Korean peninsula would pose, must now leverage the upcoming summit to persuade Kim to adopt a bold and audacious plan – one which would ensure the “bright future” for his people so frequently promised by US negotiators throughout denuclearisation talks.
Kim will not accept any form of denuclearisation without an offer from the US that comes with assurances, not only for survival, but also for economic prosperity; this is why the Hanoi summit failed. To ensure that denuclearisation becomes a win-win situation for all stakeholders, the US, North Korea and its neighbouring countries should be guided by a blueprint for rapid development and permanent prosperity.
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