His NK diplomacy? Still not working

[struggle4progress]

KEVIN DRUM
FEBRUARY 26, 2019 1:58 PM

... much of the analysis before the Trump-Kim summit in Singapore was fairly tepid: a lot of people were afraid to flat out say that Trump’s approach was dumb until the summit was well over and had produced nothing. After all, it was so crazy it might have worked, right? Kim is certainly susceptible to flattery, and who knows more about ego stroking than Donald Trump?

The second-round summit in Vietnam is getting less attention in general than the first, but apparently there are now a few more people who are willing to defend Trump’s methods out loud. And who knows? Maybe they’re onto something. But ... as near as I can tell, nobody believes that North Korea will give up its nukes no matter what Trump offers.

In other words, Trump’s approach might work, but only if “work” means accepting North Korea as a nuclear state and then moving forward from there. This is a deal that my cats probably could have negotiated, and I hardly understand why it required a long bromance between Trump and Kim to get there. It’s a nothingburger. Wake me up if Trump negotiates something that’s actually difficult.

https://www.motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2019/02/no-trumps-north-korea-diplomacy-is-still-not-working/

[struggle4progress]

1. Different ideas of a successful summit

By Emily Tamkin
February 26 at 1:19 PM

... South Korea is hoping that diplomacy between the United States and South Korea will become “more formalized and more stabilized,” said Mintaro Oba, a former State Department officer focused on the Koreas. “They hope that that, in turn, will create room and momentum for the two Koreas to build up their relationship.”

South Korean President Moon Jae-in has made rapprochement with North Korea a cornerstone of his presidency. Moon believes that cultural exchange between the Koreas will eventually “create a different political dynamic,” according to a Senate aide familiar with the matter, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to candidly discuss U.S. relations with other countries ...

... “Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe likely fears Trump will cut a deal with Kim that dismantles North Korea’s ICBMs, which can hit the U.S. homeland, but leaves intact Kim’s medium and short-range missiles that endanger Japan,” Sean King, a Commerce Department adviser during the George W. Bush administration, wrote in an email.

... one of the issues most important to Abe — the abduction of Japanese citizens by North Korean government agents in the 1970s and 1980s — may get ignored ...

https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2019/02/26/japan-south-korea-both-want-successful-trump-kim-summit-have-different-ideas-what-that-means/?utm_term=.76e97383f549

[struggle4progress]

2. Does Trump want peace with North Korea more than getting rid of its nukes?

February 26, 2019 - 12:59 PM
Trudy Rubin

... Which does President Trump crave more, a Nobel Peace Prize or getting rid of North Korea’s nukes? ...

After the first summit in Singapore, Trump famously tweeted “There is no longer a nuclear threat from North Korea.” But, contrary to White House hype, no progress has been made toward eliminating Pyongyang’s nuclear arsenal.

And Trump now appears more focused on issuing a declaration of peace with Pyongyang — a step he thinks could win him the Noble Peace Prize that “everyone thinks I deserve.” Last week, he told reporters he was in “no rush” for North Korea to give up its nukes ...

Claims that North Korea pledged to get rid of its nuclear program are exaggerated by the White House. Despite a halt to nuclear and missile tests, work is continuing on both programs. Pyongyang has yet to give Washington any itemization of its nuclear facilities and arsenal ...

https://www.philly.com/opinion/commentary/trump-kim-jong-un-summit-north-korea-nuclear-weapons-20190226.html

[qazplm135]

3. your cats would have gotten

some catnip out of the deal at least.

[still_one]

4. That is exactly what it is going to be