The US DPRK joint declaration - with commentary

The joint declaration, as reported by the New York Times:

"President Donald J. Trump of the United States of America and Chairman Kim Jong-un of the State Affairs Commission of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) held a first, historic summit in Singapore on June 12, 2018. 

President Trump and Chairman Kim Jong-un conducted a comprehensive, in-depth, and sincere exchange of opinions on the issues related to the establishment of new U.S.-DPRK relations and the building of a lasting and robust peace regime on the Korean Peninsula. President Trump committed to provide security guarantees to the DPRK and Chairman Kim Jong-un reaffirmed his firm and unwavering commitment to complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula.

Convinced that the establishment of new U.S.-DPRK relations will contribute to the peace and prosperity of the Korean Peninsula and of the world, and recognizing that mutual confidence building can promote the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula, President Trump and Chairman Kim Jong-un state the following.

1. The United States and the DPRK commit to establish new U.S.-DPRK relations in accordance with the desire of the peoples of the two countries for peace and prosperity.

2. The United States and the DPRK will join their efforts to build a lasting and stable peace regime on the Korean Peninsula.

3. Reaffirming the April 27, 2018 Panmunjom Declaration, the DPRK commits to work toward complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula.

4. The United States and the DPRK commit to recovering POW/MIA remains, including the immediate repatriation of those already identified.

Having acknowledged that the U.S.-DPRK summit — the first in history — was an epochal event of great significance in overcoming decades of tensions and hostilities between the two countries and for the opening up of a new future, President Trump and Chairman Kim Jong-un commit to implement the stipulations in this joint statement fully and expeditiously. The United States and the DPRK commit to hold follow-on negotiations, led by the U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, and a relevant high-level DPRK official, at the earliest possible date, to implement the outcomes of the U.S.-DPRK summit.

President Donald J. Trump of the United States and Chairman Kim Jong-un of the State Affairs Commission of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea have committed to cooperate for the development of new U.S.-DPRK relations and for the promotion of peace, prosperity, and security of the Korean Peninsula and of the world."

Commentary

Timing

Usually, in this kind of high-stakes diplomacy, the principals only meet when the negotiation has been concluded to put their signatures on a done deal; that avoids the possibility of the appearance of failure at the highest level. Trump has chosen to reverse this order; starting the process with a top level summit and as laying the groundwork for negotiations. Some have suggested, perhaps rightly that the old way of doing things hadn't worked so why not try something new? I might be more persuaded by this were it not that I suspect Trump's motives to be slightly different; he's  less interested in the substantive terms of the deal than in being seen to have "delivered something" (whatever that something might be). And it could well be that the 'something' here is simply this communique,that nothing more will come of it. But that might be all wants running into the 2018 mid-terms to shore up the GOP base and keep the House and the Senate in GOP hands. So this is essentially about reducing the likelihood of  impeachment. 

Commitments and actions

1. "President Trump committed to provide security guarantees to the DPRK and Chairman Kim Jong-Un reaffirmed his firm and unwavering commitment to complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula".  The term security guarantees is fairly vague and open to braod interpretation, so there is little committed to by the US here, but the DBRK has "committed" to complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula which will not be fulfilled until the US removes its capabilities from South Korea; that's a strategy since it leaves Japan and the South less protected, and reduces the US presence in Asia at a time when China is becoming more bellicose and territorial. 
2. Of the four enumerated points,the first two are feel-good fluff and meaningless. The third deals with the "complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula", as noted above. And the fourth dealing with POW/MIA remains is a small concession by the DPRK (but a big deal to the families involved) that does not affect its strategic nuclear deterrence.  
3. Finally the declaration notes "The United States and the DPRK commit to hold follow-on negotiations, led by the U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, and a relevant high-level DPRK official, at the earliest possible date, to implement the outcomes of the U.S.-DPRK summit". which simply means that there will be more meetings to follow up on the undertakings in the declaration, some easy fixes, some highly problematic.

Reversibility

Some US concessions are probably easily reversible; the lifting and re-imposition of sanctions may be one (though their effectiveness may depend in part in the US' relations with its allies). So might be the suspension of joint military exercises with South Korea. Others may be more difficult to reintroduce. For example, bringing the war to a formal end might lead to South Korea deciding to remove US military bases from its soil. That would have adverse national security implication for the US and its regional allies; but those allies might consider they are better off making peace with China and North Korea than relying on the US for protection. 

Time will tell, but this feels like a staged reality-TV event, contrived for domestic political ends in both countries.