Secret Israeli Memo Cast Doubt That Trump’s Korea Summit Accomplished Anything
A classified report from Israel’s foreign ministry questioned whether the summit between President Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un was anything more than a photo opportunity, Axios reported Thursday.
The analysis was reportedly circulated on Wednesday by the research department of the Israeli foreign ministry to all Israeli embassies around the world and to many other government agencies.
A key concern addressed by the government information was the gap between previous U.S. statements on the need for “full, irreversible and verifiable” denuclearization, and the joint statement signed at the end of the summit, which only referred to “complete denuclearization.”
The report predicted that regardless of President Trump’s optimistic statements, changes in North Korean policy will not come quickly.
“Our assessment is that regardless of President Trump’s statements about quick changes that are expected in North Korean policy, the road the real and substantive change, if it ever happens, will be long and slow,” the report said.
Contact Haley Cohen at [email protected]
A message from our CEO & publisher Rachel Fishman Feddersen
I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning, nonprofit journalism during this critical time.
At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and polarized discourse.
Readers like you make it all possible. Support our work by becoming a Forward Member and connect with our journalism and your community.
— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO