Commentaries, Analysis, And Editorials -- September 8, 2017

Kim Jong-un, left, at an event with his father, Kim Jong-il, right, in 2010. Photograph: Dan Chung for the Guardian

Benjamin Haas in Seoul and Justin McCurry in Tokyo, The Guardian: In the court of Kim Jong-un: a ruthless, bellicose despot, but not mad

Considered a maniac by many, in reality the North Korean dictator is a leader firmly in control, and with a plan for survival

Every time North Korea prepares to test a nuclear bomb or launch a missile, Kim Jong-un sits down to pen a handwritten note, flourishing his signature to personally approve the action and propelling himself into the annals of history.

The notes have become central to the propaganda theatre that emerges after military tests, broadcasting to the world the message that it is not North Korea detonating a nuclear bomb, it is Kim himself.

“Let’s begin the year with the splendid sound of the explosion of our country’s first hydrogen bomb,” Kim wrote in a long memo approving the country’s fourth nuclear test in January 2016. “The entire world will look up to us.”

Read more ....

Commentaries, Analysis, And Editorials -- September 8, 2017

Can Kim Jong-un be contained? -- Patrick Wintour, The Guardian

Why Killing Kim Jong-un Won’t Solve Anything -- Jacob Shapiro, Fortune

Why won't the U.S. use its full sanction power against North Korea? -- Sung-Yoon Lee, L.A. Times

Why Kim Jong-Un wouldn’t be irrational to use a nuclear bomb first -- Vipin Narang, Washington Post

China’s 'Freeze for Freeze' Plan for North Korea Gets Chilly Reception in U.S. -- Paul D. Shinkman, US News and World Report

How does the world deal with a new nuclear power? -- Kirsty Needham, Sydney Morning Herald

The Art of Renegotiating the Iran Nuclear Deal -- Eli Lake, Bloomberg

Can Anyone Stop Burma’s Hardline Buddhist Monks? -- Joe Feeman, The Atlantic

In Order for Afghanistan to Succeed, America Must Let it Decentralize -- Ivan Safranchuk & Charles Santos, National Interest

Catalonia independence bid: Can any side emerge as winner? -- Ciaran Giles, AP

Facebook, Russia and the US elections - what you need to know -- Michael Knigge, DW

Will Latin America’s Anti-Corruption Wave Founder Where It Began? -- Frida Ghitis, WPR

When It Comes to the War in the Greater Middle East, Maybe We’re the Bad Guys -- Maj. Danny Sjursen, War Is Boring

How Miami has prepared for sea level rise and monstrous hurricanes like Irma -- Leanna Garfield, Business Insider

How Hurricane Irma and Hurricane Andrew Compare -- Kate Samuelson, Time

117 years on, the storm which destroyed Galveston -- AFP