Commentaries, Analysis, And Editorials -- June 7, 2018

Gordon G. Chang, Daily Beast: Is Kim Jong Un’s Military Reshuffle a Shrewd Hoax?

President Trump is buying the notion that the North Koreans need lots of time to give up their nukes and missiles.

HONG KONG—Kim Jong Un’s recent shake-up of the military—he replaced his defense minister and the top two posts in the Korean People’s Army—is a sure sign he has not gained complete control of the regime.

Of course, the dramatic timing, on the eve of his historic meeting with President Donald Trump in Singapore, also means the personnel shifts have geopolitical implications. For instance, some believe they raise the possibility that Kim, by getting rid of a crusty set of officers, is trying to reorient his regime away from its relentless pursuit of nuclear weapons and ballistic missiles.

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Commentaries, Analysis, And Editorials -- June 7, 2018

North Korea summit: So what would a nuclear deal look like? -- CSM

Is North Korea's economy coming out of the cold? -- Musun Kim, Al Jazeera

Uninvited guests crash Trump’s North Korea talks -- Nahal Toosi, Politico

Beatings, killings, gulags: North Korea rights abuses likely to be ignored at summit -- The Guardian

Venue set: Trump, Kim to meet on Singapore’s Sentosa resort island -- Asia Times

Expert: North Korea could become world's cheapest factory -- Scott Heidler, Al Jazeera

Afghanistan's ceasefire with Taliban: 'Are we safe now?' -- Shereena Qazi, Al Jazeera

Doklam, One Year Later: China’s Long Game in the Himalayas -- Joel Wuthnow, Satu Limaye, and Nilanthi Samaranayake, War On The Rocks

More cooperation, not confrontation, needed in the South China Sea -- SCMP Editorial

Europe lends America muscle in South China Sea -- Richard Javad Heydarian, Asia Times

Will Ethiopia be the next China? -- Pascal-Emmanuel Gobry, The Week

Tracking the smugglers' trail of priceless Islamic State loot to art markets in the West -- Anne Barker, ABC News Online

In Macedonia, Greece is torn between history and realpolitik -- John Psaropoulos, Al Jazeera

Trump Is Choosing Eastern Europe -- Thomas Wright, The Atlantic

Can NATO deter both Russia and radicalization? -- Teri Schultz, DW

Tariffs overshadow G7 summit: Can a trade war be averted? -- John Hendren, Al Jazeera

The G7 minus one: Trump packs wrecking ball for Canada summit -- Julian Borger in Quebec City and Ashifa Kassam in Toronto, The Guardian

There will be no ‘Cyber Cuban Missile Crisis’ -- Kelsey Atherton, Fifth Domain

Why the US shouldn’t build more foreign bases -- Akhilesh "Akhi" Pillalamarri, Defense News