New Atlanticist

Trump-Kim Summit: What About Denuclearization?

By Alexander Vershbow

In terms of personal rapport between US President Donald J. Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, the Singapore summit on June 12 looks like a success, but on the substantive issues—not so much. As the United States’ ambassador to South Korea from 2005 to 2008, I witnessed first-hand the tense military standoff at the […]

A First Historic Step… But to Where?

By Barry Pavel

There were many outcomes of the historic first Trump-Kim Singapore summit on June 12; overall, it is clear that most of the hard diplomatic work remains ahead, yet the summit was helpful in establishing a top-down process that still could lead to real breakthroughs for peace on the Korean Peninsula and denuclearization.

Trump and Kim Jong-un Make History

By Atlantic Council experts

US President Donald J. Trump made history when he met North Korean leader Kim Jong-un in Singapore on June 12. This was the first time that a sitting US president has met the leader of North Korea. Atlantic Council analysts shared their thoughts on the outcome of the summit. This is what they had to […]

Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats Speaks Truth to Power

By Michael Morell

Trump administration should provide details of Russian meddling ahead of midterms On June 8, Dan Coats, US President Donald J. Trump’s Director of National Intelligence, gave an important speech that went largely unnoticed.  Speaking at an event in Normandy, France—co-sponsored by the Atlantic Council, Le Figaro, and the Tocqueville Foundation—Coats essentially said that the Russians […]

Trump-Kim Summit: Expect the Unexpected

By Ashish Kumar Sen

Even if US President Donald J. Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un fail to achieve a breakthrough in their highly-anticipated summit in Singapore on June 12—Trump administration officials have been privately ratcheting down expectations—the summit in and of itself will be historic. It will be the first time that a sitting US president has […]

Trump-Kim Summit: A Disarmament Checklist

By Patrick O’Reilly

These are the steps that should be taken to ensure denuclearization and disarmament of North Korea, formally known as the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK).

Trump Kim-Summit: The Best-Case Scenario

US President Donald J. Trump will meet North Korean leader Kim Jong-un in Singapore on June 12. Atlantic Council analysts present their views on what they believe to be an achievable, best-case outcome, one that would test North Korea’s readiness for genuine, rapid denuclearization by demanding front-loaded “down payments” during the first twelve months.  

US-China Cooperation Vital for the Success of Trump-Kim Summit

By Wang Junsheng

When US President Donald J. Trump meets North Korean leader Kim Jong-un in Singapore on June 12 it will be due in large part to the close cooperation between the United States and China over the past year. Sino-US cooperation is critical to resolving the North Korean nuclear crisis. Since Trump took office in 2017, […]

Present at the Destruction?

By Frederick Kempe

The crucial question for the Trump era was posed this week by Donald Tusk, the past Polish Prime Minister and current European Council President, whose country sacrificed so much to join the rules-based global order he fears President Trump is endangering.

The Brexit Trap: Checking Out is Easier Than Leaving the EU

By Reginald Dale

Advocates of a “hard” Brexit, granting the United Kingdom full independence from the European Union (EU), are belatedly beginning to understand that the EU is a bit like Hotel California in the famous song by the Eagles—”You can check out any time you like, but you can never leave!” As British Prime Minister Theresa May’s […]