Latest CNN story on Hanoi gives the real scoop.

A few days ago, I posted my latest article in The Nation about the failed talks in Hanoi between Donald Trump and Kim Jong Un. Here’s what the POTUS had to say upon his departure.

“Basically, they wanted the sanctions lifted in their entirety, and we couldn’t do that,” Trump said at a press conference. “They were willing to denuke a large portion of the areas that we wanted, but we couldn’t give up all of the sanctions for that.” But he noted that Kim had pledged not to resume testing of his weapons or missiles, a critical decision that prevents the North from developing a full nuclear-attack capability.

Standing beside Trump, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo added that it wasn’t all a wash. “We made real progress” during the 36 hours of talks, he told the press. “Unfortunately, we didn’t get all the way” to “something that ultimately made sense for the United States of America.” But he expressed optimism about the talks continuing, saying he was hopeful the US and North Korean negotiating teams will soon get back together “and continue to work out what’s a very complex problem.”

Now comes an astounding story from CNN about the deal that Trump and Pompeo foolishly left behind, leading the DPRK to take desperate measures to signal its annoyance with Trump’s “big offer” for Kim to surrender his entire arsenal in return for an end to sanctions.

It turns out that Kim offered, as Trump was leaving, to shut down all of Yongbyon in return for the lifting of recent UN sanctions. John Bolton must have really made a scene to convince Trump not to accept that. This was an interim deal worth considering, it seems to me. No wonder Kim was confused and Choe Son-hui, his deputy foreign minister, so pissed off afterwards.

CNN: “A snub and a last minute Hail Mary. Trump’s tough lesson in North Korean diplomacy.”

US and North Korean officials had been haggling over a shared definition of the sprawling, three-square-mile site and the last-minute overture sought to advance the North Koreans’ proposal for dismantling it. But the message did not make clear whether the North Koreans shared the US’s expansive definition of the facility and US officials asked for clarity.
Choe rushed back to get an answer. Kim replied that it included everything on the site.

But even when Choe returned with that response, the US delegation was unimpressed and didn’t want to resume the negotiations. Within hours, Trump would be wheels up for Washington.
“We had to have more than that,” Trump said when asked about Yongbyon before leaving Hanoi. “We had to have more than that because there are other things that you haven’t talked about, that you haven’t written about, that we found.”

The last-gasp effort would still have left the US and North Korea at odds over the extent and pace of sanctions that would be removed in exchange for the nuclear facility’s dismantlement. But some US officials believe that the final outreach from the North Koreans is a sign that the Kim is eager to strike a deal — but whether it’s the kind of deal the US would accept remains an open question.

Stunning.