Back at UN, Trump to herald upturn with North Korea

AFP  |  United Nations 

Twelve months on from his explosive debut on the world's biggest diplomatic stage, returns to the UN on Monday to trumpet a turnaround in ties with last year's number one enemy, North Korea's

But while relations with Kim have improved dramatically, leaders attending the annual gathering at in will hear how another of Trump's adversaries, Iran's Hassan Rouhani, remains beyond the pale for the American

After arriving in his hometown on Sunday, Trump has a packed schedule over the next few days, kicking off with a speech about the global drugs trade on Monday.

In addition to his address to the on Tuesday, Trump has a series of bilateral meetings with allies such as French Emmanuel Macron, Britain's and Japan's Shinzo Abe, whom he met with late Sunday.

One of the most closely-watched will be Monday's meeting with South Korean counterpart Moon Jae-in, who will brief him on last week's inter-Korean summit with Kim in

In his 41-minute speech at the in 2017, the US made clear he wanted to turn the clock back on the last half-century's growth of global rules and institutions to return to the primacy of the nation-state.

While the implications of his "America First" philosophy rattled many world leaders who sat in the chamber, the main target of his invective was absent.

After months of escalating tensions over advances in the North's nuclear program, Trump warned Kim that would "totally destroy" if the US or its allies was attacked.

His colourful description of Kim as a "rocket man" on a "suicide mission" triggered an angry response from Kim, who called Trump "mentally deranged."

While Kim will again be absent from New York, observers will look for pointers toward a second summit between the US and North Korean leaders since their historic get-together in in June.

Although he has expressed frustrations in recent months, Trump's says efforts to persuade to denuclearise are progressing.

"We are hopeful that we can deliver this outcome for the world," he told ""

Pompeo -- who has visited three times -- will preside over a meeting Thursday where he will brief members on how the administration can persuade the North to turn its back on nuclear weapons.

He will also defend the Trump administration's use of sanctions to force change, which has seen Chinese and Russian companies punished for doing business in

Trump's recent predecessors have all failed to bring about a lasting upturn in ties with the North and skepticism remains about whether Kim has taken any concrete steps, but that seems unlikely to deter Trump from pushing toward a follow-up to

"It doesn't appear that the Moon Jae-in summit did much more than continue a kind of atmosphere and pageantry leading into President Trump's next summit," said Mike Green, an at the

While Trump will dial down the rhetoric against Kim, there seems to be little prospect of him doing likewise with

The US annoyed many of its allies in by pulling out of a deal they jointly negotiated in 2015 that lifted sanctions against in exchange for restrictions on its nuclear program.

US allies in the Middle East, notably Saudi Arabia, have, however, been delighted by Trump's stance.

Several of the president's top lieutenants will address a meeting on Wednesday billed as a "Summit" that will also feature speakers from Arab allies.

has organised a press conference at the same time.

The has not completely closed the door on a Rouhani-Trump meeting and given how things with Kim have turned out, perhaps nothing should be regarded as impossible.

But in a weekend op-ed in The Post, charged that Trump's offer of talks was not "genuine" and came with a list of "openly insulting preconditions.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)

First Published: Mon, September 24 2018. 08:50 IST