US-North Korea Summit: The Big Fail

The following statement was submitted by a source with high-level contacts in the Asian region.

"The collapse of US-North Korea talks in Hanoi is a big disappointment for all concerned, including South Korea which has been pushing hard for a breakthrough on US-North Korea relations and is trying to improve its own relations with the North. According to what Trump and Pompeo said at their press conference, it looks like both sides miscalculated and came with their maximalist positions: the US asked for complete denuclearization and North Korea asked for the US to lift all economic sanctions. 

"It doesn't look like either side went in ready to compromise, something they should have worked out long before the summit. There's no indication of a third summit anytime soon, although both Trump and Pompeo said negotiations will continue among officials of both sides and that they learned a lot from each other. 

"As long as North Korea refrains from nuclear and missile tests, as they have been since late 2017, we're at least not sliding backward into confrontation. But the status quo can't be sustained indefinitely."