A good way to begin would be for the US to end its punishing economic warfare against North Korea and permanently halt its provocative military exercises each fall. But the US and Japan, are not eager to see Korea reunified into a powerhouse with 80 million industrious people. They will continue stirring the Korean pot.
Trump has repeatedly stressed that Russia and the US are the two biggest nuclear powers in the world, and thus the US must live in peace with Russia. On US-Russia relations, Trump is clearheaded. On the contrary, if the US is piling pressure on China today, it is because China, although an economic giant, is still a weak military power.
In the ultimate analysis, North Korea’s goal is to be rid of the sanctions regime imposed on it, seek a place on the international stage as a recognized world power and not a pariah state, while paying lip service to complete denuclearization.
Suspending the provocative and costly war games with South Korea – per the joint Russian-Chinese proposal of a “double freeze”, even if it’s never openly admitted to – was a mature move by Trump that shows his sincerity in making progress with Chairman Kim, thereby stabilizing the Korean Peninsula in the process.
The United States and North Korea are now on a more civilized level of behavior. But nothing basic has been resolved. Maybe Trump has some more concessions up his sleeve, like cutting the number of US troops in the South. But Korea is now on the back burner as Trump wages trade wars around the globe.
Who can blame the North Koreans for blowing their tops? As Trump administration mouthpieces were gabbing about peace and light, the US Air Force was getting ready to fly B-52 heavy bombers and F-22 Raptor stealth fighters around North Korea’s borders and missile-armed subs lurked at sea.
Due to international pressure and its own prerogative as well as a mix of fact and speculation North Korea is surprisingly following in Libya’s footsteps in the denuclearization process, though it remains to be seen whether this risky gamble will ultimately lead to a different outcome.
What should one expect from the upcoming US-North Korea summit? Whatever deals are struck, they must be clearly demarcated, so as to leave no room for aberration.
“In a war, truth is the first casualty…” – Aeschylus. The violation of principles, either domestic or international, is being accelerated under Donald Trump as his intentional tweets are meant to confuse Americans and their political and economic partners.
Pyongyang has gone to great lengths to “humble itself” before the eyes of the world in presenting its peaceful intentions, which it’s hoping was successful in creating space for President Moon to once more try his hand at reviving the “Sunshine Policy”.
Considering that a nuclear conflict over North Korea appeared imminent in recent weeks, the winter Olympics at Pyeongchang, South Korea, is a most welcome distraction – and might even deter a major war on the peninsula.
Neither Trump nor Kim backed down in paving the way for the intra-Korean talks, but that both have an interest in making it seem like their rival was the one who did.
The Highest Degree Of Certainty: The New Evidence In The Downing Of Flight MH17 (6,574)
The Peace Treaty of Westphalia (1648) and its Consequences for International Relations (5,776)
Grandmaster Putin’s Trap (3,804)
NATO’s Manipulation Of The Macedonian Vote Exposes Its Modus Operandi (2,793)
The Unpleasant Truth About The 1941 Parachuting Of Rudolf Hess In England (I) (2,245)
An ISIS fighter: ‘I was forbidden at the Gates of Heaven…’ (162,120)
A New Twist in the Investigation into Flight MH17 (38,488)
Grandmaster Putin’s Trap (37,549)
Pakistan’s Asymmetrical Response To Trump Is A Clever Way To Flip The Tables On Afghanistan (27,835)
What The Guardian Is Afraid Of When Attacking Honest Syria Reporters? (26,526)
Andrew KORYBKO 
Vladislav SOTIROVIC 
Nikolay STARIKOV 
Vladimir KOZIN 
Eric MARGOLIS 
Gulam ASGAR MITHA 
M. K. BHADRAKUMAR 
Fr. Lawrence FARLEY 
Thierry MEYSSAN 
Fr. Stephen FREEMAN 
Michael AVERKO 
Peter CHAMBERLIN 
Fr. Andrey TKACHEV 
Nauman SADIQ 
Iqbal ALIMOHAMED 
Adam GARRIE 
Sophie MANGAL 
Leonid SAVIN 
Oliver RICHARDSON 
Nafeez AHMED
Comments