Issue 141 (May - June)

p.10 end the Korean War and promises not to invade. Furthermore, he is ready to meet with the Prime Minister of Japan Shinzō Abe, who until now has been highly sceptical about a climate that has gone from freezing to sunny almost overnight. Kim’s avowals sound almost too good to be true, especially coming from a dictator not averse to assassinating members of his own family and starving his people, who just a few months ago was launching missiles over Japan and threatening to nuke Guam – and that is because it probably is. Time will be the ultimate arbiter. Trump has agreed to meet face to face with the North Korean leader, something no previous American President has contemplated. These two mercurial characters will get together as the representatives of nuclear powers. Both hold meaningful bargaining chips. Whichever way the negotiations go, Mr. Kim will have gained prestige as an important player on the world’s stage. Trump warns that if talks do not go his way, he will walk. When it comes to the nitty-gritty, Kim’s newly adopted puppy personality could well revert to its usual wolfish tone. To imagine he would leave himself and his dynasty vulnerable to the whims of an American president would be foolish. American administrations have gone back on their written commitments before. The mainstream media likes to paint North Korea as the party that reneged on the 1994 Clinton deal brokered by former President Jimmy Carter whose intervention prevented a major brewing conflict. Kim II-sung was described by Carter as “a vigorous and intelligent” man. A deal was struck whereby the then Dear Leader pledged to disband his nuclear weapons facilities in return for $5bn financial aid, 500,000 tons of oil supplies annually, food and two light-water proliferation- resistant nuclear reactors. When those incentives failed to manifest, Pyongyang accused the Clinton administration of negating its agreement and renewed construction of missile launch pads and storage bunkers. Enter George W. Bush who placed North Korea as a handy addition to his Axis of Evil and the rest is history. Let us be honest, Mr Trump does not have the diplomatic finesse of President Carter. The fear is he will charge in like a bull in a china shop, thus upping the potential for war once again. Without a modicum of trust there will be no deal this time around. Moreover, Trump’s record of WHEN IT COMES TO THE NITTY-GRITTY, KIM’S NEWLY ADOPTED PUPPY PERSONALITY COULD WELL REVERT TO ITS USUAL WOLFISH TONE.