Kim Jong Un Hosts K-pop Group as U.S., South Korea Resume Military Exercises

• North Korean leader Kim Jong Un said he was “deeply moved” after a performance by South Korean pop stars in Pyongyang on Sunday, according to the state-run KCNA news agency.
• North and South Korea renewed relations for the first time in roughly two years in January and plan to hold a summit on April 27.
• The K-Pop performance coincided with the renewal of military exercises by the U.S. and South Korea on the Korean Peninsula.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un said he was “deeply moved” after a performance by South Korean pop stars in Pyongyang on Sunday, according to the state-run KCNA news agency.

“When such good atmosphere is preserved carefully and continuously, only the beautiful spring when new buds sprout and flowers blossom and the rich autumn when the crops are abundant will always be in the way of our fellow countrymen,” Kim reportedly said.

The concert, which was dubbed “Spring Is Coming,” occurred as part of recent efforts by North and South Korea to rekindle diplomatic relations. The event included performances by the popular K-pop girl band Red Velvet and rock star Yoon Do-hyun. Kim was reportedly especially interested in seeing Red Velvet and highly pleased with the group’s performance.

Images released by North Korean media show Kim and his wife, Ri Sol Ju, smiling and clapping as they attended the concert.

In short, the North Korean leader seemed to enjoy the event a great deal.

Reuters

Reuters

The concert came not long after after Kim made a historic visit to Beijing and coincided with the renewal of military exercises by the U.S. and South Korea on the Korean Peninsula. The exercises, collectively known as Foal Eagle, will last roughly a month and involve over 11,500 U.S. troops and approximately 300,000 South Korean forces.

In the past, Pyongyang has decried such exercises and described them as rehearsals for an invasion. But North Korea agreed not to object to the exercises this year after a deal was made for Kim and Trump to meet.

Reuters/Kim Hong-Ji

In 2017, North Korea conducted a slew of missile tests as it pursued a nuclear weapon capable of reaching the mainland U.S. This greatly angered the international community and generated a war of words between Trump and Kim, who frequently traded insults and threats from across the globe. In early 2018, however, North and South Korea renewed dialogue for the first time in roughly two years. This ultimately led to the North’s participation in February’s Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea. The two Koreas are also set to hold a summit in late April. Meanwhile, the North has also agreed to refrain from further missile testing.

The Trump administration’s decision to agree to a meeting with the North Korean leader has been heavily scrutinized. Critics contend it grants too much legitimacy to the rogue state, but supporters of the president are hopeful it will lead to denuclearization and peace on the Korean Peninsula.

Experts Warn Trump Against Meeting Putin in Washington: ‘Do Not Invite’

• President Donald Trump proposed holding a meeting at the White House during a recent phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin, a Kremlin aide told reporters Monday.
• The White House confirmed Trump and Putin discussed holding a meeting in the “not too distant future” during the phone call but said it has “nothing further to add at this time.”
• This news comes amid major diplomatic tensions between Russia, the U.S. and its allies in relation to the poisoning of Sergei V. Skripal, a former Russian double agent.
• Experts warn inviting Putin to the White House would be a “mistake.”

President Donald Trump proposed holding a meeting at the White House during a recent phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin, a Kremlin aide told reporters Monday, a move experts warn could have grave political consequences.

“If everything goes well, I hope that the American side would not refuse its proposal to discuss the possibility of organizing the summit talks,” Kremlin aide Yury Ushakov said, according to Russian news agency TASS. “During a telephone conversation between our presidents, Trump suggested that the first meeting could be held in Washington.”

Reuters/Carlos Barria

On Monday, White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders confirmed Trump and Putin discussed holding a meeting in the “not-too-distant-future” during the March 20 phone call, in which Trump controversially congratulated the Russian leader on his recent reelection (he was warned against doing so by his national security advisers). The two world leaders reportedly suggested a number of different venues for the potential meeting, including the White House, during the conversation. But no specific date has been set and the Trump administration said it has “nothing further to add at this time.”

This news comes amid heightened diplomatic tensions between Russia, the U.S. and its allies in relation to the poisoning of Sergei V. Skripal––a former Russian double agent––in the UK. Skripal’s daughter was also poisoned.

The British and U.S. governments have accused Russia of orchestrating the poisoning and have both taken diplomatic actions as a result. Last month, the Trump administration expelled 60 Russian diplomats. Russia responded shortly thereafter by expelling 60 U.S. diplomats.

Meanwhile, the investigation into the Trump campaign’s alleged collusion with Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. presidential election is ongoing. The president has frequently referred to this investigation as a “witch hunt” and maintains there was no collusion.

In this context, a meeting between Trump and Putin would be heavily scrutinized––particularly if it occurred at the White House.

Ushakov acknowledged the troubled state of relations between the U.S. and Russia on Monday, stating there have been no discussions of a meeting since the phone call on March 20. “In the wake of the recent developments, it would be difficult to discuss a summit,” Ushakov said. But the Kremlin aide also said he believed a meeting between the two leaders “would be rather important and beneficial for both countries, as well as for the entire global community.”

Reuters/Jorge Silva

Trump and Putin met at the G20 summit in Germany last July and at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Vietnam in November. But experts warn a summit in Washington would be far more symbolic and might send the wrong message.

Dr. Pavel Baev, a fellow at Brookings Institution and Russia expert, said it would be a huge “mistake” for Trump to hold a summit with Putin in Washington.

“If [Trump’s] national security team instructed him ‘DO NOT CONGRATULATE,’ his legal team should have written in even larger letters ‘DO NOT INVITE.’ It is not just a risky initiative, it is also quite inappropriate, given Trump’s decision to expel very high number of diplomats––and given a high probability of further sanctions,” Baev said via email on Monday.

Baev said Trump already made a mistake in agreeing to meet with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and has made yet another diplomatic and strategic error by discussing a potential summit with Putin. “Sometimes, mistakes can cancel one another, but in this case, aggravation is looming,” Baev said.

Dr. Brandon Valeriano, Donald Bren Chair of Armed Politics at Marine Corps University, expressed similar sentiments.

“There is really no point in engaging Putin directly unless there is an intention to settle the outstanding issues between the states: the 2016 election hack, the invasion of Ukraine, the invasion of Georgia, human rights violations in Syria and to gain leverage over Iran and North Korea in future negotiations,” Valeriano said. “Without a serious effort to deal with these issues, any diplomatic meeting will be hollow.”