At the press conference after the meeting, US President Trump was asked a question whether or not he would consider Kim Jong Un as an equal. This question was in the same line as comments echoed throughout the day by western observers. 

Whether President Trump has legitimized the DPRK regime by putting the two national flags next to each other, by standing shoulder to shoulder with the leader of a so-called despotic government. President Trump’s answer at the press conference was pragmatic. He said, if he could be sitting next to Kim Jong Un, make the world a safer place, save millions of people’s lives, he would do it. He dodged the question of whether or not he would consider Kim as an equal, as that would have given Kim probably another verbal endorsement.

I hail President Trump’s pragmatism. But I do think it’s high time that the western observers change their perspective towards the leader of the DPRK. This is a sovereign country and Kim Jong Un is the legitimate leader of that sovereign country. He deserves to be treated the same way, as he would be just like any other leaders in the world. Of course, the country has this or that problem, human rights issues definitely among them. But who doesn’t? 

The US itself has human right problems, such as gun violence, police brutality, racism, and sexism. And nobody asks whether they would give the US leader legitimacy by standing next to him?

In the compound of the United Nations everywhere in the world, the DPRK flag flies high next to all the other flags of the 192 other UN member states. It has been that way since the DPRK joined the UN in 1991. It’s not legitimizing that country. That’s the way it should be. 

So, I must give credit to President Trump on this. He treated Kim Jong Un like another equal human being, with respect and fairness for what he and his country have done to get this far. If he continues to treat Kim and the DPRK in this light, there is real hope that the good personal chemistry that has been found today will bring about some positive changes on the ground.