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Negotiation Strategies March 2019 Contact Us

The Kim-Trump Summit 2.0 Could the Negotiations Have Been Salvaged?

Dear Clients and Friends, Even from failed negotiations there are always lessons to be learned, and last week in Hanoi was no exception! This month's edition of Negotiation Strategies is about one such lesson that you can immediately apply to your negotiations as well! For your reading convenience, this column is also summarized in the Lessons Learned bullet points at the bottom of the page. With Best Wishes Raphael Lapin

The Kim-Trump Summit 2.0 Could the Negotiations Have been Salvaged?

Introduction

With all eyes on the second summit between President Trump and Kim Jong Un last week (other than those riveted to the Michael Cohen testimony), surprise and disappointment supplanted hope and optimism as the talks ended abruptly with the President walking out.  The hope was for significant movement beyond that which was accomplished at the Kim-Trump Summit 1.0 in Singapore in 2018. In that first summit, the parties appeared to have agreed to “work towards the complete denuclearization” of the Korean Peninsula, which was vague, ambiguous and interpreted very differently by the two leaders. Nevertheless, those talks were important in that they started a process of mending fences and opening up dialogue. The hopes for the Kim-Trump Summit 2.0 were dashed when North Korea insisted on lifting of sanctions in their entirety in exchange for merely dismantling the Yongbyon nuclear complex – unacceptable to the President. Interestingly, the two sides could not even agree on the reason for the breakdown, as the North Koreans argued that they were only talking about partial lifting of sanctions and never insisted on lifting of all sanctions at this time. Could these negotiations have been salvaged?

A Different Approach

Any successful negotiation requires positive, constructive and productive dialogue and exchange before any proposals can be discussed. This dialogue and exchange should not only be about the overt presenting issues but also carefully navigated around the more sensitive covert personal issues that could potentially obstruct a deal. Any accord that addresses only the overt issues, but violates the covert personal ones is doomed to failure! The overt issues were clear. They involved reaching agreement on what “denuclearization and peace on the Korean Peninsula” means in practical terms; whether there will be a prerequisite for North Korea to dismantle its nuclear weapons program to a “complete, verifiable and irreversible” standard before any lifting of sanctions. (In the past, Trump had been very vocal about this, but wisely dialed back that rhetoric before the Vietnam summit); will North Korea provide a complete list of its nuclear assets before an agreement is reached. The covert personal issues that the leaders should have talked about candidly went beyond the national security interests of the U.S and economic development for North Korea.   For President Trump, having just emerged from a failed negotiation over the wall on the Mexican border, an overt personal issue was to restore his image as the man who has mastered the “Art of the Deal”. Coming back from the summit with what might be perceived as a poor deal could cost him enormously domestically and perhaps even the 2020 elections. For Kim Jong Un, a covert personal issue might be to be seen as an equal of the U.S. President and not to be seen as being manipulated in any way. From his standpoint, it was imperative that his image as a strong and powerful leader amongst his own people be supported and maintained. Any agreement that threatened his perch of power in the slightest would be unacceptable to him. How does one conduct talks around such sensitive issues?

The Self-Disclosure Technique

In generating dialogue around the more sensitive personal issues, a skilled negotiator needs to create a safe space for these honest discussions to happen. A powerful technique to accomplish this is known as self-disclosure.   For example, in a private meeting between the two leaders, President Trump might have self-disclosed and said: “Mr. Chairman, as we are both working hard to resolve important issues between our two countries, there are also things beyond those presenting issues that will be of concern to me. One of those concerns is that whatever I bring back to the U.S. will need to be seen as a significant accomplishment by my people and support my image as an effective leader. I can only imagine that in the same way there are personal issues that are of concern to you too, which I would like to learn more about. I think that it is important that as we work together, we should not only negotiate the overt issues, but also talk about our personal concerns to ensure that any agreements that we reach do not violate either your or my personal concerns”. By the President self-disclosing about his personal concerns, it would create a safe place for Kim Jong Un to talk about his concerns as well. By bringing these concerns to the surface, productive dialogue can then ensue as they safely negotiate those more sensitive covert issues as well as the presenting overt ones. Besides creating a forum in which to brainstorm creative ways of addressing these more sensitive issues within a broad framework agreement, this level of conversation would also have helped to build understanding, relationship and trust. It is all too common for negotiators to give up prematurely rather than to persist with patience and perseverance. Whether it was the Cohen testimony in Washington that distracted the President or impatience with the initial direction of the talks, I believe that the Vietnam Kim-Trump Summit 2.0 could have advanced beyond the Singapore Summit 1.0. With a skilled approach to these negotiations, accords might have been reached that could have incrementally helped to further trust thereby paving the way for ongoing negotiations.  Furthermore, each leader could have returned home with their   strong image intact and perhaps even enhanced.

Lessons Learned

Be aware that in any negotiations there are personal interests of the negotiators besides just the organizational ones Any proposal that addresses only the organizational issues, but violates the covert personal ones is doomed to failure Use the self-disclosure technique to create a safe place to talk about the sensitive personal issues Having these discussions, besides creating a forum in which to brainstorm creative ways of addressing these more sensitive issues, also helps to build understanding, relationship and trust. Even if negotiations appear deadlocked, rather than to give up prematurely, persist with patience and perseverance.

About Lapin Negotiation Services  Lapin Negotiation Services offers training, consulting, advising and executive coaching in negotiation, business diplomacy and dispute resolution services. Our proprietary and aggressively results oriented services are designed to help your leadership, teams and individuals master the essential negotiation, relationship-building and conflict management skills that increase revenues, decrease the high cost of conflict and build strong working relationships. Learn more about Raphael Lapin's book, "Working with Difficult People" by clicking on the image above

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