Drama in Washington overshadows Hanoi summit

THE suspense was rising to the stratosphere and the collective hearts were beating much faster than usual. Washington was holding its breath on Wednesday morning as it prepared itself for an event in which US President Donald Trump would be playing a leading role in a political drama - if not a major game changer - that had the potential to affect public attitudes towards the current White House occupant and even determine the fate of the presidency.

No, I am not referring to the historic summit meeting between President Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un that got underway in Hanoi, Vietnam, on Feb 27 and that would discuss steps that the North Koreans should take to dismantle its nuclear weapons programme and measures to establish permanent peace on the divided Korean Peninsula.

A successful outcome of the summit would not only mark the end of the Korean War and eliminate the threat of a war and a nuclear confrontation between the United States and North Korea, it could also create the conditions for the long-term unification of the two Koreas and lead to the withdrawal of US military troops and in the process transform the entire geo-politics of East Asia. A big "Wow!" that would explain perhaps all the excitement in Washington?