North Korean officials don't show up for meeting with American negotiators, breaking summit promise

Trump Kim Jong Un summit.
(Image credit: SAUL LOEB/AFP/Getty Images)

American negotiators were left checking their watches Thursday in the demilitarized zone between the two Koreas, only for their North Korean counterparts to never show up to the planned meeting, Bloomberg reports. It is not the first time North Koreans have stood up U.S. officials, although it does highlight the disparity between President Trump's portrait of a successful summit with Kim Jong Un and the ongoing complexities and hang-ups of negotiations.

The U.S. officials and North Koreans had planned to discuss returning remains of Americans killed in the Korean War nearly 70 years ago — one of the assurances secured by Trump at the Singapore summit. As Bloomberg puts it: "While the details are unclear, a failure to meet on the issue wouldn't bode well for broader negotiations about North Korea’s nuclear program."

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has recently returned from his own middling trip to North Korea, which ended with Pyongyang calling the meetings "regrettable."

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up
To continue reading this article...
Continue reading this article and get limited website access each month.
Get unlimited website access, exclusive newsletters plus much more.
Cancel or pause at any time.
Already a subscriber to The Week?
Not sure which email you used for your subscription? Contact us
Jeva Lange

Jeva Lange was the executive editor at TheWeek.com. She formerly served as The Week's deputy editor and culture critic. She is also a contributor to Screen Slate, and her writing has appeared in The New York Daily News, The Awl, Vice, and Gothamist, among other publications. Jeva lives in New York City. Follow her on Twitter.