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Classified Israeli Report Hints Trump-Kim Summit a Glorified Photo Op

A classified Israeli Foreign Ministry report suggests that US President Donald Trump and North Korean supreme leader Kim Jong Un’s meeting in Singapore was little more than a glorified photo opportunity in which the US “retreated from its positions.”
Sputnik

"Regardless of the smiles in the summit, many in Japan, South Korea and the US Congress doubt that North Korea is sincere in its intentions. Our assessment is that regardless of President Trump's statements about quick changes that are expected in North Korean policy, the road the [sic.] real and substantive change, if it ever happens, will be long and slow," the classified report, obtained by Axios' Barak Ravid Thursday afternoon, states.

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According to Axios' summary of the document, which was circulated among Israeli embassies worldwide after being produced by the research department of the Israeli Foreign Ministry, the document signed jointly by Kim and Trump leaves much to be desired.

Specifically, Trump sought "full, irreversible, and verifiable" denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula, but the document only provides for Pyongyang to achieve "complete denuclearization."

The Israeli researchers determined that Trump's decision to end military drills with South Korea amounted to "a retreat by the US," Axios notes.

Views about the importance of the summit differ substantially. Russian President Vladimir Putin said Moscow welcomes and values the "results of the meeting" between the two heads of state, while adding that it was "only a first step" toward a complete resolution of the situation in the region.

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