The Singapore summit outcome is symptomatic of the underlying problem with the current US administration: a lack of coordination with historical alliance relationships. This does not bode well for the security of the Asia-Pacific region and Australia’s own national security.

While the US has walked away from the Singapore summit with nothing in hand after making several concessions to North Korea, the current situation is still an improvement on the escalatory trajectory towards conflict at the beginning of the year.

Flavia Bellieni Zimmerman of the AIIA for WA spoke with Professor Gordon Flake on 23 June 2018. They discussed the implications of the Singapore summit in the context of previous US administrations’ negotiations with North Korea, and the expectations and concerns of North Korea’s neighbours Japan, South Korea and China.

Professor Gordon Flake is the founding CEO of the Perth USAsia Centre. He is one of Australia’s leading authorities on North Korea, having spent nearly three decades focused on the Korean Peninsula and Northeast Asia politics.

Interview by Flavia Bellieni Zimmermann.

Video and Photography by Nancye Miles-Tweedie.