The story is huge.
“China claims Kim Jong Un has agreed to denuclearize Korean Peninsula,” said the headline. The source: Reuters News Agency, a worldwide wire service known for its accuracy.
The piece was posted at 8 p.m. Tuesday night, according to the article.
“BEIJING/SEOUL (Reuters) – North Korean leader Kim Jong Un pledged his commitment to denuclearization and to meet U.S. officials, China said on Wednesday after his meeting with President Xi Jinping, who promised China would uphold friendship with its isolated neighbor,” said the lead.
“It is our consistent stand to be committed to denuclearisation on the peninsula, in accordance with the will of late President Kim Il Sung and late General Secretary Kim Jong Il,” Kim Jong Un said, according to Xinhua. Kim is currently in China for a meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping.
Wow.
President Trump has pressed North Korea since taking office in January 2017. More, he’s pushed China to do more about its belligerent neighbor, and taken some actions seen as overkill, like enacting tariffs on Chinese goods. But Trump’s efforts appear to have paid off, at least at this point.
Yet a look at some of the top news sites in the U.S. turned up little on the story.
The Washington Post had this story as its lead: “Trump proposal would penalize immigrants who use tax credits, other benefits.” Beneath that was this piece: “Meeting of North Korean, Chinese leaders presents a new challenge for Trump.”
In the story, the Post wrote that the meeting in China is intended to send a message to the United States: “Any moves on North Korea must go through Xi.” There’s no mention of the Reuters revelation.
CNN’s top story was: “Stormy Daniels’ lawyer seeks to depose Trump” (of course). A tiny headline on a side column featured a headline, “North Korea’s Kim Jong Un met Xi Jinping on surprise visit to China.” The story said Kim and Xi were “discussing giving up the country’s nuclear weapons,” but did not say Kim had vowed to give up his nuclear weapons.
A second story was headlined: “China throws Trump a curveball ahead of his meeting with Kim.”
The New York Times top headline was about Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner. “Kushner Resists Sessions’s Push for Hard-Line Prison Policy.” On North Korea, The Times offered these stories: “North Korea Is Firing Up a Reactor. That May Upset Trump-Kim Talks”: “Kim Jong-un Met With Xi Jinping in Secret Beijing Visit”; and “Bulletproof, Slow and Full of Wine: Kim Jong-un’s Train.”
Fox News offered: “North Korea begins testing experimental reactor at nuclear site despite ‘denuclearization’ talk.” The Wall Street Journal wrote a piece headlined: “Official Accounts Diverge About Kim Jong Un’s Visit to China.”
And the Associated Press, the most widely read news agency in the U.S., wrote a boring, catch-all headline that Journalism 101 professors would frown on: “Kim, Xi portray strong ties after NKorea leader’s China trip.” No mention of the Kim pledge to denuclearize, though.
Trump praised the development, although he expressed caution.
Of course, North Korea cannot be trusted as it has repeatedly broken its promises.
Still, one can only imagine the headlines if the development occurred while Barack Obama was president.