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People are floating the idea of Trump winning the Nobel Peace Prize for the North and South Korea's peace talks

Alexandra Ma   

People are floating the idea of Trump winning the Nobel Peace Prize for the North and South Korea's peace talks
Politics3 min read

donald trump

Lynne Sladky/AP

President Donald Trump should win the Nobel Peace Prize for the inter-Korea talks, people say.

  • The leaders of North and South Korea pledged to end their decades-long war and work toward denuclearisation on Friday.
  • People from US politicians to international relations experts to pro-unification activists in Korea are saying that Donald Trump deserves the credit for it.
  • Many are saying that he should win the Nobel Peace Prize.


As North and South Korea pledged to end hostilities and work toward denuclearisation, people around the world have started to put forward Donald Trump's name as the next Nobel Peace Prize winner.

Kim Jong Un and his South Korean counterpart, Moon Jae-in, pledged in a historic summit on Friday to end the Korean War - which has technically remained ongoing since 1950  - and to work toward a "complete" denuclearisation on the Korean peninsula.

Many people think the credit should go to Trump - so much so that he should win the next Nobel Peace Prize.

The North Korean nuclear threat has ballooned, but the regime also appeared to climb down, under Trump's presidency. Trump also threatened to bomb the country.

Trump has discussed with the leaders of key nations in East Asia, including South Korea and China, his goal to denuclearise North Korea. The US has also drafted multiple rounds of UN and Treasury sanctions to punish North Korea for its nuclear programme.

korea summit hug

Korea Summit Press Pool/Pool via Reuters

Kim and Moon hug after announcing their intention to make peace and work toward denuclearisation.

Hours before Kim and Moon's announcement on Friday, Daniel McCarthy, editor-at-large of The American Conservative, wrote in The Telegraph and Sydney Morning Herald, Trump "will have defused the most dangerous crisis the world faces at present."

"To make peace demands a new approach, and President Trump has found one," McCarthy wrote.

Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham also told Fox News before the Koreas' announcement: "Donald Trump convinced North Korea and China he was serious about bringing about change. We're not there yet, but if this happens, President Trump deserves the Nobel Peace Prize."

Ian Bremmer, president of the Eurasia Group, also tweeted that Trump, Kim, Moon, and China's Xi Jinping deserved to jointly win the Nobel Peace Prize.

"I've been critical of Trump foreign policy missteps in past year," Bremmer said in a separate tweet. "But today's historic North/South Korea breakthrough does not happen without priority & pressure from US President. Trump deserves full credit."

In Seoul, pro-unification activists were photographed by Getty Images holding placards saying: "Trump, you'll be winner of 2018 Nobel Prize!"

British betting site Coral also set the odds to Trump and Kim jointly winning the 2018 Nobel Prize at 2/1 - the highest on the list.

korea summit dinner

Korea Summit Press Pool/Pool via Reuters

Kim, Moon, and their spouses at a dinner to commemorate the talks.

Trump has appeared to take credit for the groundbreaking pledges to peace, tweeting on Friday that the US "should be very proud" and thanking China's Xi Jinping for his "great help" in paving the way.

Last week he also gave the two Koreas his "blessing to discuss the end of the war."

Trump and Kim have gone from exchanging heated barbs - from "rocket man" to "mentally deranged US dotard" - to agreeing to meet in person for the first time, which is expected to take place in the coming weeks.

Last year, Kim tested at least 14 missiles and claimed to develop a hydrogen bomb. Last week, the North Korean dictators pledged to halt nuclear and missile testing - although experts said this could just mean North Korea had developed its nuclear weapons enough not need any more tests.

Click here for Business Insider's full coverage of the inter-Korea summit.

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