The most tangible results in the 403-word joint statement were that North Korea agreed to engage in follow-up nuclear talks with Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and other top U.S. officials “at the earliest possible date,” and to recover and repatriate the remains of U.S. soldiers who died during the Korean War.

In a press conference after the summit, Trump offered contradictory messages about what exactly he had just achieved. He modestly defined success in Singapore as developing “a relationship” with Kim, characterized the meeting as “the beginning of an arduous process,” and stated that Kim had taken only “the first bold step toward a bright new future for his people.” At the same time, he described the joint statement as “very comprehensive” and argued that “I don’t think you can be any more plain” in terms of the language on denuclearization. He said U.S. officials had worked on the substance of the joint statement for months and that the document was “far down the line.” Asked why the document contained no details on how the denuclearization process will work, Trump responded, “Because there was no time. I’m here one day.”

[A reader responds: Trump’s North Korea Statements Are an ‘Acknowledgement of Reality’]

Trump maintained that while he had indeed consented to something the North Koreans have long sought—a meeting between their leader and the American president—he didn’t view this as a concession and thought it was as beneficial to the United States as it was for North Korea. The United States hasn’t given up anything of value to North Korea, he argued, while “they have given up a tremendous amount.” He noted that in addition to North Korea committing to “complete denuclearization” and recovering the remains of American soldiers, he had secured a verbal promise from Kim Jong Un after the signing ceremony in Singapore to shutter a missile-engine testing site. He also listed a number of notable—if limited and in some cases provisional—gestures of goodwill that North Korea made ahead of the summit: halting missile and nuclear tests, releasing three American hostages, closing a nuclear-test site.

But Trump then proceeded to, rhetorically at least, make one concession after another to North Korea. He said that U.S. sanctions on North Korea would “come off when we are sure that the nukes are no longer a factor,” but then chipped away at that firm stance by adding that “I actually look forward to taking them off” and that it was “OK” that China had recently eased up on sanctions enforcement at its border with North Korea. In announcing that the United States and South Korea would suspend their joint military exercises as long as negotiations progress, he adopted North Korea’s longstanding position that these “war games” are “very provocative” rather than legitimate defensive measures. “I know a lot about airplanes. It’s very expensive,” he said of the drills, which can involve bombers based in Guam. Trump also hinted that he might eventually fulfill the North’s longtime objective of booting U.S. forces from Korea. “At some point,” he noted, “I want to bring our soldiers back home.”