Donald Trump and Kim Jong-Un (pictured during his New Year's Day speech) have repeatedly traded threats of war and personal insults during months of high tensions over Pyongyang's weapons ambitions
Daily Mail/AFP: Kim Jong-un is setting a TRAP for the US and South Korea and has agreed to talks with Seoul in a bid to end their 70-year alliance with America, analysts warn
* North and South Korea will hold official talks on January 9, Seoul said on Friday
* It comes after Pyongyang sent a statement accepting Seoul's offer for the talks
* Kim said he could send athletes to the Winter Olympics in the South next month
* But analysts warn Pyongyang's ultimate goal is to divide US-South Korea alliance
North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un could be laying a trap for the US and the South with his apparent olive branches towards Seoul, analysts say, warning that Pyongyang's ultimate goal is to divide their 70-year alliance.
North and South Korea agreed on Friday to hold their first talks in more than two years, hours after Seoul and Washington decided to defer joint military exercises which always infuriate Pyongyang until after the Winter Olympics.
The meeting, the first since December 2015, will take place on January 9 in Panmunjom, the truce village in the heavily fortified Demilitarized Zone that divides the peninsula.
Read more ....
WNU Editor: South Korean President Moon Jae-in's number one foreign policy objective since his election last year has been to develop a rapprochement with North Korea .... and to accomplish this objective he has made it very clear on numerous occasions that he is willing to make major concessions. For this policy he also has garnered a large number of supporters .... members within his own political party in South Korea, the Chinese, the Russians, and among many in the West who view this as a preferable alternative than President Trump's or Japanese PM Abe's approach towards North Korea. What's my point of view .... South Korean President Moon Jae-in is going to fail. I can understand why China and Russia are favoring this approach .... they are not under threat, and they are practicing realpolitik when it comes to what they want in Asia. Where I am disappointed is in the altitude and behavior of many in the West. I always find it astounding that many in the West have this faith that dealing with what is in essence a murderous Stalinist regime in Pyongyang would be enough to restrain its behavior. Nothing can be further from the truth. The North Korean government has never wavered in what is their number one policy .... and that is the reunification of the Korean Peninsula under Pyongyang's conditions. In the pursuit of this policy, the North Korean regime has brought unimaginable harm to the North Korean people, and raised tensions throughout the region. They will see this South Korean attempt for talks as a capitulation on their part, and they will exploit as much as they can.
7 comments:
Westerners have taken their leave from reality for decades now. When the USSR collapsed they claimed that history was at an end. Today they are obsessed with climate change while they deny any link whatsoever in between Islam and Islamic jihad.
Caecus. With all due respect, I travel pretty much the whole world and you just don't seem to know how advanced, civilised and educated (talking averages here) the west is in comparison to the east or middle east or Africa. It's not even close. Where I'm right now, this very moment, people still squat over floor toilet's. Moving on soon.
Don't be fooled by what you read on the news, that's clickbait for people like you to fall for and then get all rattled up about it.
And no one claimed "history was at an end" when the USSR collapsed. What's that even supposed to mean?
And no one is obsessed with climate change either. There is a debate grounded in research and facts and some people just politicize it. You wouldn't be one of those, would you?
And on your final point, have you ever realised that is done on purpose?
I do seem to remember that you sometimes post quite smart comments.
This wasn't one of them :p
Looking forward to your next comments when you're not head down in coolaid ;)
I tend to agree. This effort at peacemaking will not succeed. At least in America's case, we aren't in a position to fight and win a war against North Korea. Should China, Russia, or China and Russia get involved on the side of North Korea the odds against America prevailing are even greater.
Perhaps South Korea feels they are in a position to effectively confront North Korea. As such, they may feel they have sonething to gain with minimal risk.
As for America's strategy, we should do what we can to ensure that we are kept "in the loop" on everything that happens during negotiations. Anything other than firsthand knowledge of all happenings is unacceptable. Fsilure to abide by this will mean the loss of all American aid, military support, and the American military personnel currently deployed in South Korea as well as all military equipment will be withdrawn as quickly as we can get out. All American built military structures and anything that can't be removed will be blown up with C-4 or something that will destroy it without a trace. The South Koreans will NOT use it.
While we aren't going to be able to infuence the outcone of negotiations, at least having first hand knowledge of the proceedings will put us in a position to be able to prepare properly when the outcone or likely outcome is known. By having such first hand knowledge we can prepare contingencies in "real time."
Based upon my studies of the conflict and interactions with those with extensive ties to the region I estimate a 95% chance the South Korean government will betray us, stab us in the back, and otherwise sell us and our just intersts out. Americans and our government need to be prepared. It is possible that South Koreans in general may not be aware of ANY of this. Current geo political realities may mean we are stuck with South Korea but we should be under no delusions. This is not a trustworthy ally.
While the South Korean effort is unlikely to succeed, it does afford us some opportunities. If hot war ensued now, best case scenario is America and it's "allies" "win" but in the process of "winning" 10s of millions of Americans die and this is the best possible outcone!!
You are also correct to point out that Russia and China are not in danger. In fact, a whole host of people from various countries have shown a variety of actions such as rah-rahing for Ametica to take military action, make concessiins to North Korea, etc. None of these people or their loved ones are in any real danger. Americans are!! Perhaps such people should refrain from commenting until tbey or their loved ones are in the kind of mortal danger Americans are in.
While the diplomatic process is probably going to fail, it does afford us opportunities we should avail ourselves us. If hot war ensued today, 10s of millions of Americans will certainly die. (We might win the military lottery like we did in Desert Storm. People who bet their lives on such things aren't smart.) This allows us a window of opportunity to identify the North Korean operatives and strengthen homeland defenses giving us a better chance to safeguard American lives.
Additionally, at this point, our chances of winning a hot war against North Korea are problematic at bes. Should China, Russia, or China and Russia militarily side with North Korea the odds against us winning become even greater. The diplomatic process will allow us a window of opportunity to build up our military capabilities affording us a better chance at survival and perhaps even winning.
While a diplomatic process that will fail is a problem, problems create opportunities for those willing to look properly, who approach them with a positive can do attitude, and who do not deny reality. This affords an opportunity to strengthen homeland security and to build up our military capabilities meaning we will be in a better position if/when hot war does ensue. We need to avail ourselves of this opportunity. We may not get another one.
Anon,
Caecus is an excellent writer and generally has much insight. When we post regularly all of us will probably eventually type something stupid. Caecus is well capable of defending himself.
With that said what specifically did he write that is inaccurate? You stated his comment was not smart.
His comment is short and sweet. I wish I could be so concise!! As such, it is easy to break down.
Westerners expecially their leaders have indeed taken their leave from reality for decades now. I have duscussed this in much detail on this website and elsewhere numerous times. There's nothing "exceptional" about America or the "west." To believe such nonsense is the height of hubris and can lead nowhere good.
When the USSR collapsed, many did claim history was at its end. This was well documented in the early to mid 2000s. At their height relative speaking the British Empire, the Soviet Union, the Roman Empire, and a host of others were far more powerful than today's "west" or America is now or was at the time of the Soviet Union's fall. What would lead someone to spout such foolishness? Hubris perhaps? See above. I must admit to wondering how people with such medicore accomplishments as these could become full of hubris.
As I recall, in its early days, American Idol used to put on people who couldn't sing just to humiliate them. Why didn't SOMEONE tell them, "you can't sing?" Perhaps a similar phenomenon is at work here and people whose accomplishments are mediocre think they are sonehow exceptional. Fortunately Americans, in general, reject such nonsense. I'm getting off topic.
"Western" leaders are obsessed with climate change to the point that they've hurt us very badly. This one is arguably the greatest myth ever foisted upon humanity. So, yes people do politicize this to get taxpayer dollars and sometimes for more nefarious reasons. DJT does for all his faults seem willing to not give in to the scam. This scam has caused much harm to our economy. It's long past time for it to end.
"Western" leaders do tend to deny the link between Islam and Islamic Jihad. Perhaps it is on purpose. Many of them have foolishly allowed their countries to be flooded with these people placing the survival of their countries, the survival of their citizens, and their own survival in grave jeopardy. Perhaps they did all of this on purpose. It seems more likely this is a case of ideological blindness on their part.
But without military action Americans will remain in danger for decades, catch 22 B.Poster?
Catch 22 indeed, you are correct sir. As I told someone in September of last year, "war with North Korea in six months" unless North Korea changes course. I do not believe for a nanosecond that North Korea is going to change course. As such, war by the end of March appears to be inevitable. North Korea and their allies have backed us into a corner. We have no choice.
The problem is we are not ready for such a war and will not be by the end of March. What I did not anticipate was this diplomatic effort by South Korea.
Problems create opportunities. This may well give us a window of opportunity to properly prepare our military to effectively wage war and to bolster our homeland defenses. We should avail ourselves of this. We also need to be aware that the South Korean leadership will gleefully sell us out and betray at the first opportunity. We should not trust them. This is not a good ally.
A bad situation indeed, a military that is not even remotely prepared to face down this enemy, a porous homeland security, and an unreliable ally. This is what we have to deal with. As we say, "when the going gets tough, the tough get going."
Of course there is the remote possibility that the diplomatic effort could succeed. As part of any success, this needs to include a path whereby we can FINALLY remove our military personnel from South Korea thus ending over sixty years of humiliation. Since the ally is untrustworthy, we need to insist on being in the loop first hand during the entire process. While we will not be able to influence the process, this will allow us the ability to prepare in real time for all contingencies. Failure among South Korean "ally" to agree to these very reasonable terms will mean the IMMEDIATE CEASATION of ALL US aid and our personnel will be withdrawn IMMEDIATELY AS SOON AS WE CAN GE TTHEM OUT!!
Once freed from the South Korean yoke we will then be in a better position to actually negotiate a peace arrangement with North Korea, if this is possible which it probably is not. Also, without having to be concerned with South Korea will increase our military options with regards to the threat.
While I am concerned for the South Korean people, I am more concerned for the American people. Any sane country would put their own first. When faced with an unreliable and treacherous ally like the South Korean government, limited military capability, and porous homeland security that has been decades in the making our options here are very, very limited.
Post a Comment