(Photo/Agencies)

No deal reached in Hanoi

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and US President Donald Trump canceled a planned working lunch after failing to reach an agreement on the North's nuclear issue at their meeting, citing differences over the lifting of sanctions.

Despite the setback at the Kim-Trump summit held in Hanoi, venue for the second meeting between the US and North Korean leaders, Trump thanked Chinese President Xi Jinping for acting as mediator between the two sides.

Due to the abrupt end to the meeting, Trump held his press conference at the JW Marriot Hotel in the Vietnamese capital at 2 pm, one hour and 50 minutes ahead of schedule.

Trump and US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, who both attended the press conference, said that differences on sanctions were the key reason contributing to the outcome.

Trump told the press conference that North Korea wants the sanctions lifted entirely, but "we couldn't do that," and that North Korea was "willing to denuke a large portion of the areas that we wanted, but we couldn't give up all of the sanctions for that ... We had to walk away from that."

Observers from both China and South Korea said the outcome was surprising and disappointing.

Lü Chao, a research fellow and expert on the Korean Peninsula issue at the Liaoning Academy of Social Sciences, told the Global Times on Thursday that "the outcome was a surprise, because before the summit the atmosphere was positive and friendly."

But it proved that the US still believes sanctions are the most important measure to guarantee complete denuclearization, and they cannot be lifted so quickly. However, the North thinks it is time for the US to show more sincerity, Lü noted.

China and Russia have urged the US and the UN Security Council to consider invoking reversible provisions to ease sanctions and encourage North Korea and other relevant parties to make bigger strides toward denuclearization, since North Korea has already shown sincerity after the first Kim-Trump summit, the Xinhua News Agency reported in September 2018.

Endorsement of other key players over the peninsula issue means North Korea has confidence to end this summit with no deal and wait for next time, Lü said. "Trump has great pressure inside his country so he really wants Kim to compromise more to help him in the presidential election next year, so Trump might be more nervous and disappointed, while Kim could be very calm."

South Korean observers feel disappointed as well since Seoul is eager to hasten the process of boosting ties with Pyongyang.

Although the two leaders showed publicly they have a good relationship, the outcome proves a continued lack of trust, said Koh Yu-hwan, a professor from the South Korean Dongguk University, speaking at a forum in Hanoi held by the (South) Korea Press Foundation to review the Kim-Trump summit.

Kim Kwang-gil, an attorney and member of the Presidential Committee on Northern Economic Cooperation, said the positive take away of the summit is that both sides have at least learned each other's bottom line, and this will pave the way for a more pragmatic round of talks next time.

Appreciating China

While the outcome was not what many hoped, Trump singled out China's contribution to the issue.

"China has been very helpful. President Xi is a great leader," Trump said. "He's a highly respected leader all over the world and especially in Asia and he's helped us, Mike [Pompeo], I would say, that he's helped us a lot, right?" Trump said in answer to a question from the Global Times at the press conference.

He continued: "I have called him just recently to say: 'Hey, whatever you can do about this.' He [Xi] has been very helpful at the border and he's been very, very helpful with, I think, North Korea generally. Could he be a little more helpful? Probably. But he's been excellent."

Lü said that Trump's words prove that China has fulfilled its commitments to the UN Security Council resolutions and is a responsible major power.

"But he said he thinks China is 'very very helpful' with North Korea. This might show that the US believes China is the main source of North Korea's confidence when dealing with it. The US needs to understand that the denuclearization process cannot just rely on compromise from only one side, China's stance is constructive and fair," Lü said.

China's Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lu Kang said at a daily briefing on Thursday that he believes the Korean Peninsula issue is back on the right track. "It does not come easily and should be cherished."

Lu said that the issue cannot be addressed overnight or easily. "We hope the two sides can respect and take each other's reasonable concerns into consideration, and reach a positive outcome that is expected not only from the two countries, but also the world," he said.

China hopes North Korea and the US will continue their dialogue in which China is willing to play a constructive role, Lu said.

The bilateral negotiation [between North Korea and the US] has entered a "deep-water zone" and difficulties are inevitable, said Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi.

However, it is clear now that political means are the solution to the Korean Peninsula issue, Wang said while meeting North Korean Deputy Foreign Minister Ri Kil-song in Beijing on Thursday.

As Chinese proverb says Good things never come easy," but the outlook is promising, Wang said.