Donald Trump, North Korea and the potential global consequences
(The Guardian North Korea)

Readers respond to this week´s summit between Donald Trump and Kim Jong-unEverybody seems to concur that the agreement between the North Korean leader and Trump is going to let the US disengage militarily from the peninsula (US military exercises halted in bid to woo Kim, 13 June). Trump himself is very happy that this will mean big defence savings for the US. Might he not be intending the same for Europe? At the G7 meeting he was able to demonstrate to the American people that they can´t trust European countries and Canada. He alleged that there were enormous trade disadvantages for the US in the existing relationship. Moreover, he has made a big issue out of the EU´s insistence that Russia be excluded from what was the G8. He could argue that if the Europeans and Canada are not going to cooperate with the US, why should Americans pay for their defence? This could pave the way for disengagement from Nato and enormous US defence savings. If he is going to do it, it will have to be in the coming months before the November elections for Senate and Congress.Arthur GouldLoughborough, Leicestershireo It is not difficult to understand why Trump succeeded where Obama and others failed (A breakthrough moment - but only for Kim´s dictatorship, 13 June): contrary to the stand taken by previous US presidents, Trump concentrated on denuclearisation, not on regime change. Continue reading...