Iran deal comparisons cloud Trump’s North Korea summit

North Korea's leader Kim Jong Un (L) shakes hands with US President Donald Trump (R) during the US-North Korea summit. (AFP)

• White House officials stress that this week’s meeting in Singapore is the beginning of a process and not its end
• The chairman of the Senate Foreign Affairs Committee, Tennessee Republican Bob Corker, says it’s difficult to determine what of a concrete nature has taken place

WASHINGTON: President Donald Trump’s triumphant assertions about the success of the Singapore summit are being met with skepticism and outright derision from some critics.
They’re seizing on the contradiction between Trump’s withdrawal from the Iran nuclear deal and his willingness to accept vague pledges from North Korea’s Kim Jong Un.
White House officials stress that this week’s meeting in Singapore is the beginning of a process and not its end.
The Singapore summit sets out broad goals to be met in the coming months. In contrast, the Iran deal, signed by President Barack Obama in 2015 and approved by seven nations, followed 18 months of talks.
The chairman of the Senate Foreign Affairs Committee, Tennessee Republican Bob Corker, says it’s difficult to determine what of a concrete nature has taken place.