Does it kind of seem like everyone’s jumping the gun a little bit lately when it comes to North Korea? Now, don’t get me wrong, last week’s meeting between the two Korean leaders was historic, but it was hard to see it as anything more than a suped-up dog and pony show.
The two leaders shook hands while posing for cameras on each side of the border, and Kim Jong-un rode around in his limo with his platoon of bodyguards running ridiculously in formation around the car. Kim Jong-un pledged to denuclearize, shut down his nuclear testing facility, and even put an end to the seven-decade-long war.
It was a heck of a spectacle, but I fear it may be little more than just that --- a highly produced and choreographed show.
I woke up this morning and saw that the president of South Korea has called on President Trump to receive the Nobel Peace Prize for his work on North Korea. Now I realize that presidents have been given that award for far less --- Obama received his for waking up that morning and brushing his teeth --- but we might want to tap the brakes a bit here.
I’m not diminishing what the Trump administration has achieved here, but South Korea is clearly engaging in a charm offensive. Look, I get it, if this whole thing goes south --- pun kind of intended --- South Korea would take the worst of it. They’re desperate, and for good reason, but we can’t let that manipulate us into making a mistake here.
I hate to do this, but I’m going to rain a little on this parade. Look, the North Koreans are smart. They should have fallen after they lost their benefactor, the Soviet Union, but they endured on. Somehow a country the size of PENNSYL-FRIGGIN-VANIA has been able to hold the attention of the entire world for SEVENTY YEARS.
It’s really kind of amazing. Ever since the fall of the Soviet Union, North Korea has held our attention by dangling its nuclear program like a worm on a hook. It even tempted President Clinton in the same way President Trump is being tempted now. Clinton gave in, dropping sanctions and providing humanitarian aid. He even sent Madeline Albright to meet with Kim Jong-il in the same way Mike Pompeo met with Kim Jong-un.
North Korea has promised a lot of things lately, but all that is moot until we hear what they want in return.
Those negotiations ultimately failed when it was found out that North Korea was continuing their nuclear program in secret. But in the end, they got what they wanted. Clinton dropped sanctions and gave relief. Their nuclear program continued.
North Korea has promised a lot of things lately, but all that is moot until we hear what they want in return. Nothing is free, and I fear that they’re going to ask for more than we’re willing to give. Never forget, North Korea is STILL North Korea. They haven’t changed. They’re still murdering their own people, and more recently Otto Warmbier, from within concentration camps. Two things are about to happen.
Either history will be made, OR the entire world is being set up to be duped --- AGAIN --- the same way North Korea has been manipulating the world and surviving for the last 70 years. Let’s pray that it's the former.