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North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and US President Donald Trump’s summit in Singapore is just one day away. It is fair to describe the June 12 summit as the “talk of the century” – the meeting fraught with the most significance since the 21st century began. The summit’s outcome will determine whether North Korea and the US, which have been on hostile terms for the past 65 years, will clear away the last vestiges of the Cold War on the Korean Peninsula and move down the path toward peace. The summit is also sure to provide South and North Korea with the critical momentum they need to usher in a new age of reconciliation and coexistence.

The leaders of North Korea and the US both arrived in Singapore on the afternoon of June 10. After his arrival, Kim met with Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, basically kicking off the summit schedule. The fact that Kim and Trump traveled to Singapore two days before their summit succinctly illustrates how much the two countries have staked on it. It suggests their commitment to prepare for the historic summit and personally oversee the attempt to reach a final breakthrough.

The biggest question about the summit is what kind of trade can be made given the US’s demand for North Korea’s complete, verifiable and irreversible denuclearization and the North’s demand for a security regime and the lifting of sanctions. Shortly before departing for Singapore, Trump sent mixed messages, emphasizing that the summit was a “one-time shot” to achieve peace while simultaneously saying that “the minimum [outcome] would be relationship.”

This appears to mean that if things go well, it could lead to a “grand bargain” dealing with all issues at once, but that otherwise it would be necessary to move toward an agreement through a series of meetings. The best scenario is for the two leaders to reach a comprehensive agreement about the entire process of denuclearization and regime security and outlining that agreement in a document dividing that process into phases that are as compact as possible. In order for the two countries to arrive at the kind of agreement that can be mutually satisfactory, they must both give a little ground and reach an understanding aimed at their shared goal.

Another important question is whether North Korea and the US can agree during the summit to bring the Korean War to a formal end. While the leaders of South and North Korea had originally agreed that South Korea, North Korea and the US would declare the war over together, an agreement by Kim and Trump to end the war would itself be a positive development, since it would represent one step toward a security guarantee for the North. Considering that Trump has already indicated his willingness to invite Kim to the White House and normalize diplomatic relations with the North after denuclearization is complete, another question is whether this will be specified in the summit agreement. We are also encouraged by reports in the foreign press that Trump is actively considering the option of formally establishing diplomatic relations with the North and opening an embassy in Pyongyang.

The last thing Kim did before departing for Singapore was inspecting a seafood restaurant on the Taedong River in Pyongyang, which makes clear that he is focused on the economy. This also offers another hint that Kim is willing to give up nuclear weapons to achieve economic development. Trump also did not hide his hopes for a deal in the summit by using the expression “positive” several times before heading to Singapore.

If the two leaders take part in their summit with an understanding of each other’s positions and a willingness to stake everything on the outcome, they will be able to do a great service to the Korean Peninsula and to the world. It is our sincere hope that the North Korea-US summit that will take place tomorrow will go down as a major turning point in the journey toward peace on the Korean Peninsula.

Please direct comments or questions to [english@hani.co.kr]