China (and others) on North Korea

[Randy W]

Kim arrives in Singapore - with an assist from China, although he apparently didn't get the fighter jet escort.Trump is still on his way until around 8PM tonight.

 

Th Boeing 747 is an Air China jet - his trip is newsworthy in itself.

 

Kim Jong-un arrives in Singapore for historic summit with Donald Trump

After its strange flight path from Pyongyang, North Korean leader’s Boeing 747 has been seen on the runway at Changi Airport

 

 

After reaching the southern coastal region of Guangxi, it veered off to the Chinese island province of Hainan, apparently in an attempt to maximise the amount of time it spent in Chinese airspace.

 

[Randy W]

An interesting article from Quartz

 

THE FORGOTTEN WAR

What an official end to the Korean War would mean to those who fought it

 

 

 

There are plenty of reasons to be wary—including the lack of clarity about Kim Jong Un’s objective, and the complexity of the details to be worked out to get a peace deal.

The four-page armistice agreement, intended to be temporary, took 158 meetings spread over two years and 17 days to achieve. It recommended that representatives of the governments on both sides of the war meet in three months to begin peace negotiations. This year marks the 65th anniversary of that agreement.

 

 

[Randy W]

from the NY Times

 

For All His Deals, Trump Has Never Faced an Adversary Like Kim Jong-un

 

 

 

Regardless of the outcome of the Singapore meeting, Mr. Kim has already won a lot. Becoming the first North Korean leader to meet with a sitting American president, Mr. Kim has proved to his people that he is a force the Americans have to reckon with.

That may be enough, at least for now.

 

 

[chilton747]

 

from the NY Times

For All His Deals, Trump Has Never Faced an Adversary Like Kim Jong-un

 

 

 

 

Regardless of the outcome of the Singapore meeting, Mr. Kim has already won a lot. Becoming the first North Korean leader to meet with a sitting American president, Mr. Kim has proved to his people that he is a force the Americans have to reckon with.

 

That may be enough, at least for now.

 

Piece of cake for the master negotiator

[Randy W]

NYT realtime coverage - https://www.nytimes.com/2018/06/11/world/asia/trump-kim-live-updates.html

 

looks like it's over

 

 

The men signed a document, which Mr. Trump described as “comprehensive” before Mr. Kim left Singapore’s Sentosa island and the president prepared for a news conference.

 

[Randy W]

My guess is that Kim Jong Un saw an opportunity to END a VERY wasteful (in all respects) program, while shaking off the old guard generals who were telling him how to run his father's country.

 

We'll see what comes.

[Randy W]

from the NY Times on Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/nytimes/videos/2034954650055380/

 

How North Korea Is Spinning the Summit

The New York Times

10 hours ago ·

North Korean state media has been constrained in its coverage of Kim Jong-un’s international engagements, including his highly anticipated meeting with President Trump. Until now.

Read more: https://nyti.ms/2JOjQ07

 

 

 

 

https://www.facebook.com/nytimes/videos/2034954650055380/

[chilton747]

My guess is that Kim Jong Un saw an opportunity to END a VERY wasteful (in all respects) program, while shaking off the old guard generals who were telling him how to run his father's country.

 

We'll see what comes.

I certainly agree with that!

[chilton747]

 

My guess is that Kim Jong Un saw an opportunity to END a VERY wasteful (in all respects) program, while shaking off the old guard generals who were telling him how to run his father's country.

 

We'll see what comes.

I certainly agree with that!

Also I'm sure that some of the elders are not too fond of Kim's decision.

[True Blue]

As part of Trump's negotiations, the NBA will expand to a Far East conference in 2021 with teams in Singapore, Hong Kong, Shanghai & Pyongyang, NK.

Also KFC, Pizza Hut, Starbucks and McDonalds are opening in North Korea. In return, Trump gets to trademark "Little Rocket Man Cherry Bombs" and get them into fireworks stands before July 4th.

 

(At least that's what I heard third hand from Ivanka's neighbor's hair stylist's third cousin's brother in law ...........so it must be true).

Edited June 13, 2018 by True Blue (see edit history)

[Randy W]

[Randy W]

THIS is apparently real, though

 

Trump Showed Kim Jong Un A Fake Movie Trailer Starring The Two Of Them As Heroes

In a world...where denuclearization is discussed through dramatic movie trailers.

 

[Randy W]

Not that many months ago - From North Korea with dread (a NY Times video - hopefully, this link will work) -

 

https://www.nytimes.com/video/players/offsite/index.html?videoId=100000005473011

 

 

Opinion

Trump Was Outfoxed in Singapore

By Nicholas Kristof

Opinion Columnist

There’s still plenty we don’t know and lots of uncertainty about the future. But for now, the bottom line is that there’s no indication that North Korea is prepared to give up its nuclear weapons, and Trump didn’t achieve anything remotely as good as the Iran nuclear deal, which led Iran to eliminate 98 percent of its enriched uranium.

There was also something frankly weird about an American president savaging Canada’s prime minister one day and then embracing the leader of the most totalitarian country in the world.

“He’s a very talented man,” Trump said of Kim. “I also learned that he loves his country very much.”

In an interview with Voice of America, Trump said “I like him” and added: “He’s smart, loves his people, he loves his country.”

Trump praised Kim in the news conference and, astonishingly, even adopted North Korean positions as his own, saying that the United States military exercises in the region are “provocative.” That’s a standard North Korean propaganda line. Likewise, Trump acknowledged that human rights in North Korea constituted a “rough situation,” but quickly added that “it’s rough in a lot of places, by the way.” (Note that a 2014 United Nations report stated that North Korean human rights violations do “not have any parallel in the contemporary world.”)

Incredibly, Trump told Voice of America that he had this message for the North Korean people: “I think you have somebody that has a great feeling for them. He wants to do right by them and we got along really well.”

It’s breathtaking to see an American president emerge as a spokesman for the dictator of North Korea.

. . .

All this is to say that Kim Jong-un proved the more able negotiator. North Korean government officials have to limit their computer time, because of electricity shortages, and they are international pariahs — yet they are very savvy and shrewd, and they were counseled by one of the smartest Trump handlers of all, President Moon Jae-in of South Korea.

My guess is that Kim flattered Trump, as Moon has, and that Trump simply didn’t realize how little he was getting. On my most recent visit to North Korea, officials were asking me subtle questions about the differences in views of Mike Pompeo and Nikki Haley; meanwhile, Trump said he didn’t need to do much homework.

Whatever our politics, we should all want Trump to succeed in reducing tensions on the Korean Peninsula, and it’s good to see that Trump now supports engagement rather than military options. There will be further negotiations, and these may actually freeze plutonium production and destroy missiles. But at least in the first round, Trump seems to have been snookered.

 

[Randy W]

NY Times on Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/nytimes/videos/2037680186449493/

 

Tracking North Korea's New Tourism Plans

The New York Times

12 hours ago ·

Is North Korea trading bombs for beaches? We tracked the country's efforts to build a sprawling resort complex near an area the military has used for testing missiles.

 

 

 

 

 

https://www.facebook.com/nytimes/videos/2037680186449493/

[amberjack1234]

I hope so. I had rather visit one of their beaches than eat one of their nukes for breakfast. BUT IT HAN'T HAPPENE YET. DON'T COUNT THE CHICKENS 'TILL THEY HATCH.