On Tuesday, June 12, 2018, President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un met in Singapore for a historic summit. North Korea agreed to destroy a nuclear engine testing site and eventually denuclearize completely, although it did not commit to anything specific. On the other hand, the US agreed to remove its military presence in the south and quit playing the "war games" that have angered the North for so many years. But how will the outcome of this summit affect our world as we know it?

What does this mean for China?

China has geopolitical, economic, and security interests in the Korean peninsula. Xi's government has repeatedly shown its support for a denuclearized Korea, but the thing it fears most is a collapse of the North Korean regime, which would send millions of migrants into China.

One positive thing about the peace deal for the Chinese is that the US alliance with South Korea could be weakened in the coming years, as the US agreed to end its military presence in the South to allow Kim to denuclearize.

However, there are two other things China has to keep in mind. First is the prospect of a reunified Korea under a South Korean or Western-backed government. This would diminish China's influence in the area, especially considering many influential countries in the area, like Japan, Taiwan, Singapore, and Indonesia, are democratic. Second, China needs to keep its border with North Korea secure. President Trump has emphasized this in the past, and this would keep unwanted migrants from passing through to China. To keep the North Korean regime from collapsing, along with the border, economic sanctions on Kim's regime may need to be relaxed a little.

What does this mean for South Korea?

Many South Koreans remained optimistic about the summit since approval for Trump and Kim is at an all-time high, but some are wary of Kim's intentions. Will he actually go through with denuclearization? Since the US is ending its military presence in the south, South Koreans may feel less secure, especially if they don't know if Kim will keep his promises. It only makes sense that after decades of being at war with their neighbors, South Koreans are extra cautious. In addition, both the South Korean government and US forces in the region were surprised by Trump's intention to demilitarize.

What about the United States?

While the plan is to denuclearize North Korea once the US pulls out of the Korean peninsula, things could change dramatically, considering that Trump has made plenty of inflammatory remarks toward Kim and his regime in the past, such as calling him "little rocket man" and claiming he has a bigger nuclear button. We've seen how North Korea reacts to criticism (remember "The Interview" back in 2014?), and we know Trump has trouble controlling himself on Twitter. Without a military presence in the south, the US could be in big trouble. If we wanted to keep a strong force in the region, we would really have to depend on Japan for military cooperation, but Japanese approval of the president has dropped in recent years. In 2017, 24% of those surveyed had confidence in the US president, down sharply from 78% in 2016 and 85% in 2009.

What about North Korea?

This could go either way for Kim's regime. It appears that the north is trying to aim for international cooperation after a unified Korean team competed at the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, Kim's meeting with South Korean President Moon Jae-in, and the summit with Trump. However, they could just be trying to make their international image look nicer while they continue to resist democracy and commit hundreds of human rights violations every day that nobody can see. We can't hold North Korea accountable for denuclearization, either. Accountability is nearly impossible in a totalitarian communist dictatorship that brainwashes its people out of sheer fear and closes them off from the rest of the world. How will we know if Kim ditches the nukes? Our only way of knowing is through North Korean state media, and we can't verify their claims for ourselves. Anything said by the North's government should be taken with a grain (or a whole pinch) of salt. But maybe Kim is different from his father and grandfather. Maybe he'll try and change things for the better.

Biggest takeaway

The intention of this summit is clearly positive, but how do we know if North Korea is going to denuclearize? It was great that the leaders of the two countries actually met and shook hands instead of directing threats and insults at each other through Twitter (Trump) and state television (Kim).

That doesn't mean Trump isn't a complete idiot, though. He was praising the genius, leadership and talent of Kim. "He's got a very good personality, he's funny, and he's very, very smart," Trump said in an interview Tuesday night after the summit.

Sure, Kim can crack a good joke and is a smart guy, but did our president forget that this is the same man that had some of his family members assassinated? His human rights record is astonishingly horrible. His government throws thousands of people in labor camps (some because their family members committed the crime), encourages state-sponsored rape and torture, allows their people to starve to death, and doesn't allow citizens to leave the country, have a dissenting opinion, or have any contact with the rest of the world. Nice guy, right? Forget his denial of basic human rights to his people and personality cult.

All in all, the summit was a positive step towards change and cooperation, which is much better than the two leaders with large egos throwing insults and threats of nuclear war at each other.

Now the one thing we need to worry about: can we trust North Korea and hold them accountable for ending their nuclear proliferation?