What ‘no deal’ between the US and North Korea means for South Korea
This is a blow for South Korea, which had hoped an easing of US sanctions on North Korea could lead to the reopening of inter-Korean projects
Hanoi — As word spread that a summit between US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un was ending early in failure, some South Korean officials at a Hanoi media centre watching a live feed of proceedings turned pale and made hurried calls. "The president might have to rewrite his speech," said one official said in a hushed voice, referring to an address Moon Jae-in was due to deliver on Friday marking a national holiday. The failure of Trump and Kim to reach an agreement at their high-stakes summit in the Vietnamese capital is a blow for the South Korean government, which had pinned hopes on an easing of US sanctions on North Korea leading to the reopening of inter-Korean projects including a factory park, tourism zone and railway network. Those projects, stymied by sanctions on North Korea, are key to a Moon economic initiative that he sees as a driver for South Korea's moribund economy, which is suffering its worst unemployment in a decade. "For the Moon admini...
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