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Two points of interest emerged regarding Pyongyang's intentions on denuclearization following Secretary of State Mike Pompeo's June 6 trip to North Korea: Pompeo left the country describing his claims as "gangster-like" the first statement issued by dictator Kim Jong-un since his summit with President Donald Trump, suggesting a positive relationship between the two countries is coming. However, there is no mention of denuclearization.
It should now be clear that: 1) for Kim, he is back to delay the tactics, and 2) for Trump, he will soon come a time when he will have to take the
Anyone believing that Kim is tearing up his pompadour hairstyle trying to decide between disarmament or does not understand the state of mind of the Kim family.
One of the reasons why the Kim Dynasty lasted nearly three-quarters of a century – suffering only parsimonious rewards from the United States and South Korea despite its long and aggressive story after the Korean War – is the one that mastered the roles of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde
grandfather of the current leader were expert manipulators. It was their devilish side – that is, Mr. Hyde – who often called the shots, leading to a history of outrageous acts of aggression including attempts to Assassination in the South, successful and not; attack and capture an American spy ship in international waters, incarcerate the crew for nearly a year; shoot down an American plane; abduction of civilians in the South and Japan; deploy special forces in the South through submarines; torpedo and sink a South Korean destroyer; to attack South Korean leaders in other countries; dig infiltration tunnels under the demilitarized zone for use in the event of war; The collective evil of Kims is only limited by a deviant state of mind.
The current Kim is credited with having already killed more than 300 of his people, maintaining his reputation as a murderer for equal opportunity. His victims came from three important groups for his rule: the party, the army and his family.
Among the military, there was a senior officer who dared to give extra food to the soldiers
. His uncle brutally executed, as well as the whole family of the uncle, was put to death while he feared that the uncle would accompany China to overthrow him because of his reluctance to be the Beijing night dog. , humanitarian aid, etc. and not wanting to use its funding of the nuclear program and missiles, the Kims have been clever at transitioning to Dr. Jekyll's role to obtain it. They were effective mainly because their American and South Korean counterparts naively believed that they could successfully dismantle the North while previous democratic leaders had failed. It will be interesting to see if the character of Kim's Dr. Jekyll serves him as well as his predecessors.
There is a clear difference this time, because Kim is dealing with an American president who has engaged, North Korea's nuclear program – voluntarily or involuntarily. The glove was launched.
Unsurprisingly, we first saw Dr. Jekyll emerge as Mr. Hyde waited for his time – only to emerge after Pompeo's visit. Kim is looking to play Trump while secretly continuing his program, hoping that he is a term president.
While the media suggests that some of Kim's actions might reveal a "gentler, sweeter" tyrant, they do not recognize, like the unicorn, such an animal is nonexistent. They see gestures like sending athletes to the 2018 Olympics in PyeongChang (for which South Korea has paid all the expenses), send his sister to attend, and promise to return the remains of 200 dead from the war of Korea. work for a peaceful outcome.
But these are "softball" gestures – no fact at the cost of denuclearization. Trump has to play hard with Kim by taking productive steps to do it and imposing strict deadlines. Unfortunately, he has just shot Kim softball with his recent announcement that there is no "time limit" for the denuclearization of North Korea.
The state of mind of Kim seeks to play Dr. Jekyll / Mr. Hyde role as long as possible to preserve and advance his nuclear program. He will strive to drag the negotiations by continuing to play softball.
A Trump gift announced that he intends to give Kim a CD of Elton John containing the song "Rocket Man". That's the name that Trump gave to Kim when the two engaged in insults. During the summit meeting, Kim disavowed knowing the song, so the reason for Trump's gift (Trump himself clarified later that the CD was never delivered, since Pompeo did not personally met Kim.)
No dictator, especially one whose ego is inflated every day by compatriots revering him as a god, enjoys being belittled. So, if Trump's intention in giving such a gift is to convey the subtle message, "I will not hesitate to call you for what you are, so follow the line," it's correct.
However, Trump knows the recent satellite photographs reveal the ongoing activity of North Korea's nuclear development program. Thus, current factors suggest that no voluntary initiative is taken by Pyongyang to denuclearize.
The Kims poured too much money into the program, receiving billions of dollars annually from Iranians to share the technology. The success of the program so far is prized by the military. Evidence emerged recently Pyongyang uses all possible means regarding its technology to solicit money. A North Korean defector in 2016 reported that Kim even blackmailed Israel, threatening to sell missile technology to Iran unless paying $ 1 billion in cash. For Kim, agreeing to destroy his nuclear program would lose face to him and the army in a culture where the economy of the face is paramount.
Kim knows that denuclearization could actually make him lose more than just the face. it cost him his life in the hands of a discontented army seeking revenge. That's why, in his mind, Kim does not debate denuclearization. He knows that he can not afford to do it. And, if Trump got tougher, we'd see more of Mr. Hyde de Kim.
Trump must understand that Kim may be Dr. Jekyll today and Mr. Hyde tomorrow . As a result, a better gift helping to convey the denuclearization message would be a hard ball as Trump needs to start playing the game.
Lt. Colonel James G. Zumwalt, USMC (retired), is a retired naval infantry officer who served in the Vietnam War, the US invasion of Panama and the first Gulf War. He is the author of "Bare Feet, Iron Will-Stories on the other side of the battlefields of Vietnam", "Living the Juche Lie: The Kim Dynasty of North Korea" and "Doomsday: Iran -The Clock is Ticking ". political and defense issues.
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