Friday, April 27, 2018

My Take On Today's Extraordinary Day On the Korean Peninsula


WNU Editor: This is one for the history books. There is no looking back now.

12 comments:

fazman said...

It can all go south at the real meeting

jimbrown said...

It will be really interesting to find how he got here.

Anonymous said...

WNU,
"There is no looking back now." This is more than possibly correct. But this may also be a ploy on Kim's part to create an "irresistible" momentum going into the talks in order to present some very difficult conditions for Trump to negotiate against. Kim has been a little successful in detaching S Korea from The US orbit, whether that is significant or not can only be determined by the negotiations themselves.

fred said...

why in all the cable babble do they fail to note the major accident, tunnel collapse, at the nuke site? clearly this has some connection to the sudden announcement prior to any actual talks?

North Korea’s nuclear test site has collapsed ... and that may be why Kim Jong-un suspended tests

War News Updates Editor said...

They have agreed in principle .... both officially and unofficially .... on where they want to be in the future. This is a huge accomplishment, and was probably agreed to in the past few weeks. The next step will be the timeframe to accomplish this. My prediction .... a decade transition to prepare both populations on the changes that will be coming ... we are talking about liberalisation of travel (like in the Soviet Union), and economic reforms and investments. As to issue on nuclear weapons. A freeze, followed by a timetable to dismantle the weapons and having UN inspectors on the ground .... but political events on the ground may make this all moot, and may result in an even faster de-nuclearisation.

There is no going back on this one. Hopes and expectations have been promised .... on both sides. Going back on it will be a disaster for the one who makes this decision.

Who do I give credit for all of this. President Trump's hardline on sanctions. China accepting at the end that change must occur and agreeing to President Trump's call for sanctions. South Korean President Moon taking the initiative during the Olympics to invite North Korea. And Kim Jung-Un accepting the concept that change must occur.

Here is an easy prediction. If things proceed as they should .... this year's Nobel Prize should go to Trump, Xi, Moon, and Kim Jug-Un. But since the idea of President Trump getting a Nobel Prize is an idea that is unacceptable for Europe's elite .... the price will go to Moon and Kim Jung-Un.

There is going to be one sticking point .... and it is a big one. How to face up to and account for the terrible crimes that the Kim family have done to the people of Korea.

jimbrown said...

Very exciting.

Anonymous said...

WNU,
"There is going to be one sticking point .... and it is a big one." Yes, it is a subject that a lot of political entities on both sides of the fence having a big interest in.

Unknown said...

How fast can the North Koreans build another tunnel under another m mountain to make even more radiation no go zones.

Maybe this is as much reason for the conciliatory efforts as the sanctions.

Anonymous said...

Peace is coming. Rocket man Kim, got rid of the foes in his government that would have stopped this from ever happening. He will be looked at as the savior of the North. That is what he has been saying is whole life as leader. Nothing else is as important as being the one Korean true to his word. Unification is right around the corner. Not beholding to either China or the West is the ultimate goal of all Koreans. Trump is the man who created the nexus of opportunity. Kim just stepped through it in Panmunjom.

As far as who should judge Kim. The North Koreans should. They are the ones who sacrificed the most these long years.

(For a fleeting moment in time the JSA was my home. Panmunjom my job site. Propaganda village at night lite by a single light. NORKs always watching as we watched them. Where an eight day work week was norm. My hope is a complete transformation of 2 Korean nations into 1 Korea. The end of the DMZ signed with an old school peace treaty.)

btw, long time lurker first time poster.

War News Updates Editor said...

Thank you for your comment Anon.
You are right ... the North Koreans are the ones who can only truly judge the Kim family.
You also must have some interesting stories when you worked at the DMZ.

Anonymous said...

Agree, they'll give the peace price to a mass murderer before Trump. And the NYT and CNN will praise and bend over backwards for giving Xi credit. Everyone BUT Trump.

B.Poster said...

The only new variable in all of this is Trump. As for the other leaders, they or others like them have been the norm. While there is still much that could go wrong and we cannot "know" what is happening unless we have access to inside information in real time, it seems to me that Trump probably deserves about 75 to 95% of the credit.

I agree with the assessment that the Western Europeans dislike him so much that they would deny him the recognition of a Nobel Peace prize. While not surprising, it appalling that our "allies" are so petty.

Those involved will know what is happening. In the coming days, weeks, months, and perhaps years we will learn more. In the meantime, this is good enough even if certain petty people should deny someone the proper recognition. Of course it is unlikely that any of these people did this with a Nobel Peace Prize in mind. DJT as POTUS has demonstrated a level of humility and statesman ship that previous presidents have lacked. If this is successful, it doesn't matter who gets the recognition.

As for the Kim family, it will be the North Koreans who likely ultimately will judge him. In the meantime, I would not be surprised if part of the deal is they are allowed to live out the rest of their lives in luxury in a tropical paradise. It may not be the optimal outcome but it is likely the best we are going to be able to get.

I would add in agreement with other sentiments expressed here. It now looks like perhaps it was a brilliant move on the part of the South Korean leadership to invite the North Koreans to the Olympics and even integrate one of their teams. At the time, I did not think it a good move but small steps like this can go a long way!! It is important for a national leader to keep focus on the "big picture." It seems this is what Moon did here.

I pray this all works out. There is still much that could go wrong.