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North Korea
The Kim Destiny Pictures Video: Brilliant or Stupid? [Updated]
A long-time reader with whom we correspond frequently sent us a link to “President Trump’s Video Message To Kim Jong Un: ‘A New Peaceful World Can Begin Today,'” with the comment: “Have you guys seen this? Brilliant video.” Scott was less than impressed, and wondered what is good about it. Steve suggested that the video’s “goofy style” may be based on a psychological profile of Kim Jong-Un, or maybe on »
How anti-Trump hysteria helps the president on North Korea
Most of us realize that the hysterical anti-Trump resistance has difficulty keeping its talking points straight. The latest example concerns North Korea. Last year’s talking point was that Trump, with his “fire and fury” talk, was leading the U.S. into a nuclear war with North Korea. It was a ridiculous claim. The likelihood of Kim Jong Un launching a first strike against the U.S., thereby bringing on “fire and fury,” »
The agreement
From what I can tell, the summit in Singapore produced a “small ball” agreement. North Korea will return the recovered remains of POW/MIAs and work with us to recover and return additional remains. It will also shutter one missile engine testing site. The U.S. will stop holding the regular “war games” it conducts in conjunction with South Korea. (It’s not clear how the South Koreans feel about ending the “war »
What happened? TK
President Trump and the psycho formerly known as Little Rocket Man have concluded their summit conference in Singapore. Their time together included a working lunch resulting in a signed an anorexically skinny agreement with a provision committing North Korea to “complete denuclearization” (text here). President Trump followed up with a press conference (text here). My daughter Eliana followed the proceedings as the pool reporter on the scene. Eliana’s account for »
How to Read a Newspaper (Updated)
One of the most important skills I learned from my teacher of international relations, the great Harold Rood of Claremont McKenna College, was how to read a newspaper. I’m not referring to what order to read the paper, or how to “deconstruct” news stories to surmise what is left out, but rather as clues to what is really going on and who has the initiative. This skill was a variation »
A leftist’s take on the summit
Damon Linker argues that there are three potential outcomes of the Trump-Kim summit, none of which is good. The article provides an amusing illustration of how twisted the anti-Trump left has become. One outcome, says Linker, is a “modest” deal, akin to the one President Clinton reached with North Korea. Normally, says Linker, this would be a good outcome because it would avert war, at least for a while. But »
In Singapore, a White House statement
The White House has released the statement below about the Singapore summit meeting tomorrow (embedded below via the Twitter feed of AP White House correspondent Zeke Miller). The statement relates: “The discussions between the United States and North Korea are ongoing and have moved more quickly than expected.” The summit will convene and adjourn in Singapore in the course of the coming day. Something is happening here. White House: Statement »
In Singapore, Pompeo meets (and disputes) the press
Secretary Pompeo gave a press briefing on the status of negotiations with North Korea early this morning (our time). The video is below. His remarks anticipated the summit meeting tomorrow. Pompeo devoted his prepared remarks (about five minutes) almost entirely to disputing a New York Times report that the United States lacks the technical expertise to verify North Korean denuclearization. I may be mistaken about this, but I think he’s »
Trump’s excellent letter to Kim
As Steve discussed earlier today, President Trump has cancelled his planned summit with Kim Jong Un. As a fan of the NBA, Kim should have seen it coming. When obnoxious leftist leaders of the Golden State Warriors indicated they might not come to the White House to be honored, Trump “uninvited” them. So Kim shouldn’t have been surprised that when his regime suggested it might cancel the summit, Trump beat »
Breaking: Trump Cancels Nork Summit
The White House has just announced that President Trump has cancelled the planned summit with North Korea’s Kim Jong Un. This is an excellent move by Trump, I think. Just this morning my old AEI colleague Nick Eberstadt warned in the Wall Street Journal: North Korea is also threatening to scrap the Singapore parley unless denuclearization is taken off the agenda. There’s no need for Kremlinology here. These are standard »
North Korea lashes out at Pence, threatens to cancel summit
Earlier this week, President Trump seemed to suggest that, in the absence of a nuclear deal with the U.S., Kim Jong Un’s regime might suffer the same fate as the Qaddafi regime in Libya did. Mike Pence then made this threat explicit, saying: “As the president made clear, this will only end like the Libya model ended if Kim Jong Un doesn’t make a deal.” In response, North Korea’s Vice »
Pompeo in context
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo returned in the early morning hours from North Korea with an understanding on arrangements for the Kim Jong-Un’s forthcoming meeting with President Trump. He also secured the release of the three American hostages held by the North Korean regime. President and Mrs. Trump welcomed them home at Andrews together with Vice President and Mrs. Pence. In Pompeo’s absence, Trump announced our withdrawal from “the worst »
New York Times embarrasses itself in hit piece on Pompeo
Is there any shot at the Trump administration too lame for the New York Times to eschew? After reading this report from Brian Flood at Fox News, I’m starting to doubt there is. On Tuesday, the Times breathlessly reported that Secretary of State Pompeo was absent from Washington when Trump announced he was pulling the U.S. out of the nuclear deal with Iran. “At a Key Moment, Trump’s Top Diplomat »
Leaving North Korea
President Trump likes to make the news himself via his Twitter feed, as he has done this morning (below). Secretary Pompeo has left North Korea with the three American prisoners held by the North Korean regime. Their detention was unjustified and represented a further source of grievance with the regime. Kim, for some reason, now seeks to make a good impression on the president of the United States. I am »
Churchill on North Korea and Iran
I don’t think Churchill ever wrote much about North Korea, even though the Korean War was going on when he became prime minister for the second time in 1951, and Britain was our ally in that conflict. The outbreak of the Korean War mostly spurred on Churchill’s preexisting and controversial view in favor of German rearmament. But my mind has wandered back to some of Churchill enduring lessons as I »
Trump’s North Korea Policy: The Story So Far
News breaking this afternoon that North Korea is releasing three American citizens it has been holding. Another point on the scoreboard for Trump’s Nork policy. Of course, this is but a small gesture on the part of the Norks, and the real business will be whether Trump can get a meaningful and enforceable deal with them. Count me skeptical about this. But still it is fun to see the creased-smarty-pants »
Kim Jong Un promises peace in our time
What should we make of Kim Jong Un’s promises in advance of a proposed meeting with President Trump, including his promise to give up North Korea’s nuclear arsenal if the U.S. promises not to invade? I think Walter Russel Mead answers the question correctly when he describes them as “a repackaged version of virtually every concession North Korea has ever proposed.” What should we make of Kim’s historic meeting with »