Sixty years ago our country intervened in the Korean civil war. We were not threatened by either faction. In fact they were not interested in the US. We already had our civil war North won. Then a big problem arose. They purchased nuclear technology and later purchased missile technology. All previous Presidents and Congress looked the other way the easy way and NOW!
3
The sad aspect of this ugly imbroglio is that the only person Trump will listen to and actually hear now is Sergei Lavrov. And it's even sadder that it may well be our best option.
1
To our longtime friends and allies in South Korea: We, the normal, sane people of the USA, are sorry. HE shall pass, just like a gigantic, excruciating kidney stone. Best wishes.
7
President Moon is being silly. I understand sympathy for their North Korean relatives, but they also risk a NK takeover of all the progress they have achieved. Things are shaping up with Kim having the upper hand and Moon is playing right into it. Kim can taste Moon's weakness and hesitation--it empowers him. A wolf is at the door and Moon is fumbling.
"Mr. Moon was a former human rights lawyer defending labor activists and political dissidents while Mr. Trump was a former real-estate magnate."
This sentence is interesting on several levels. First off how can you have been a former anything in the past tense? I guess you could say that when Michael Jordan came back to basketball he was a formerly retired basketball player. Beyond that how is Trump a former real-estate magnate when he hasn't divested at all? I guess that was missed by a proof reader but also by a fact checker.
This sentence is interesting on several levels. First off how can you have been a former anything in the past tense? I guess you could say that when Michael Jordan came back to basketball he was a formerly retired basketball player. Beyond that how is Trump a former real-estate magnate when he hasn't divested at all? I guess that was missed by a proof reader but also by a fact checker.
3
This man is systematically destroying all our global alliances, carefully built and managed over the last century. Contrary to any nationalist's goal of making the US stronger and more secure, we are more hated and at greater risk for conflict and damage than ever before. It may not be a high crime or misdemeanor but the harm being done to this nation is immeasurable and possibly irreparable. This maniac must be removed from office without delay!
9
It is so scary to have an impetuous ignoramus like Trump spouting off when the possibility of a nuclear confrontation is looming. Where are the grown ups?
6
Moon Jae-in might soon be living in the 'new and expanded' North Korea.
South Korea has lived under threat of a 10 mega-death firestorm for 60 years. Nuclear weapons don't change that. They are surely capable of inflicting the same without U.S. help, or building the means to do so independently in short order.
The interpretation in this article, that NK might invade SK while using an ICBM arsenal to deter US involvement, is one way of looking at Kim's possible motivation. Another perspective would be that he fears that the possible incineration of Seoul would not deter the US from attacking NK unilaterally. I would caution him that the incineration of my own city might not, either, and I would feel a bit safer if the White House were relocated to Guam.
The interpretation in this article, that NK might invade SK while using an ICBM arsenal to deter US involvement, is one way of looking at Kim's possible motivation. Another perspective would be that he fears that the possible incineration of Seoul would not deter the US from attacking NK unilaterally. I would caution him that the incineration of my own city might not, either, and I would feel a bit safer if the White House were relocated to Guam.
2
The interests of South Korea and the United States may have diverged, which probably was one of Kim Jong um' s goals. North Korea's development of ICBM missiles is an unacceptable threat to the United States and other allies. President Moon, who was elected on a platform favoring negotiations with the North, views any nuclear threat pragmatically. It raises the stakes little because the North desires to unify the peninsula and nuclear fallout might harm as many in Pyongyang as Seoul should the North resort to nuclear weapons on the peninsula. War breaking out from an unilateral United States strike is far more dangerous because it would be fought on the peninsula and obviously result in tremendous casualties. Christopher Hill, the seasoned diplomat, stated this morning that negotiations have only "scratched the surface" and there is far more that can be done with the Chinese. Although the Chinese don't mind Jong em taunting us at times, they have little interest in seeing the Hermit Kingdom possess nuclear weapons and missiles that can threaten the stability of Asia. They want the North as a buffer state and probably would be amenable to a Cuban missile like agreement that promises a nuclear free peninsula in return for a guaranteed division of the peninsula with the North permanently in their orbit. They probably have the ability to enforce regime change in and strip the country of nuclear weapons either through regime change or forcible military action.
2
The reason why North Korea developed its nuclear weapons program is because of the belligerent position of the USA in the peninsula. The mere presence of American troops is view as a permanent threat. U.S. wants to apply in Korea the same doctrine that went loose for Vietnam: divide to conquer. The South Koreans don't want to pay the price.
2
US troops are in Korea to originally dissuade Chinese and now North Korean military intrusions into the south. The US got bogged down in Vietnam to prevent the spread of communism in SE Asia after the French departed. It was a costly mistake, but to divide and conquer either nation was never an objective. Partitioning was arranged by international agreement in an attempt to prevent a longer, broader war. It worked in Korea (so far) but not in Vietnam were communist aggression continued.
1
Trump is too dense to understand how stupid it is to threaten South Korea and China with a trade war while at the same time attempting to somehow resolve issues regarding North Korea, which requires working with South Korea and China.
9
Ron:
I'll grant you that Trump is stupid, but (to paraphrase Donald Rumsfeld) we have got to go with the President we have got. The present catastrophic mess is a legacy of Trump's (smarter) predecessors. Let's hope he does the right thing.
I'll grant you that Trump is stupid, but (to paraphrase Donald Rumsfeld) we have got to go with the President we have got. The present catastrophic mess is a legacy of Trump's (smarter) predecessors. Let's hope he does the right thing.
trump continues to prove he is unfit and unqualified to be POTUS.
8
and what would HRC do? scary thought, isn't it.
1
Two quick points. A decade and a half ago, North Korea was willing to freeze its nuclear program and consider complete denuclearization under appropriate conditions. The U.S. via Bush's "Axis of Evil" forfeited that opportunity. For the past several years North Korea has offered dialogue on the basis of a freeze for a freeze - their nuke/missile program for a halt to US/ROK war games. U.S."strategic patience" voided that option. Now the ante may shift to a nuke freeze for U.S. withdrawal of troops from South Korea. See the pattern?
Second point. Short of a pre-emptive US/ROK attack, there is no condition under which North Korea will seek to unify the Korean peninsula by force. Have we also forgotten the North's "Confederal Republic" and the South's "Commonwealth" proposals for unification in 2000 - two economic systems, one state in both cases? To suggest that the North might attack the South under the protective shield of its ICBMs serves only to inflame fear in the U.S. and ROK public and make the use of force palatable.
Second point. Short of a pre-emptive US/ROK attack, there is no condition under which North Korea will seek to unify the Korean peninsula by force. Have we also forgotten the North's "Confederal Republic" and the South's "Commonwealth" proposals for unification in 2000 - two economic systems, one state in both cases? To suggest that the North might attack the South under the protective shield of its ICBMs serves only to inflame fear in the U.S. and ROK public and make the use of force palatable.
6
President Trump's "antagonistic comments" in the last few days reflect, perhaps unconsciously, the duality of a lot of Americans' feelings about the situation on the Korean peninsula. We recognize the threat of the North Korean regime to the world order, with their nuclear weapons, missiles, the assassinations and the cyberattacks, but ask why the U.S. must bear part of the cost of defending the South, and have to withstand the threat of a catastrophic attack ourselves. Why not, in other words, just sign the peace treaty that the North wants, and get out? Let the Koreans decide the political future of their land for themselves; we in the U.S. have our own problems. Although it's rare and controversial for a President to speak about these uncertainties out loud, he is in reality reflecting the concerns of many. That's not necessarily a bad thing!
3
David:
That is the isolationist temptation. Just withdraw to Fortress America. It seduces even bright people. It is a lie -- we can't just stop the world and get off -- and it would be an evil betrayal of our allies and the Pax Americana we have so successfully sustained since WW2.
Don't snicker. As Nobel prize-winner Angus Deaton has written: “Life is better now than at almost any time in history. More people are richer and fewer people live in dire poverty. Lives are longer and parents no longer routinely watch a quarter of their children die.”
Let's keep the faith.
That is the isolationist temptation. Just withdraw to Fortress America. It seduces even bright people. It is a lie -- we can't just stop the world and get off -- and it would be an evil betrayal of our allies and the Pax Americana we have so successfully sustained since WW2.
Don't snicker. As Nobel prize-winner Angus Deaton has written: “Life is better now than at almost any time in history. More people are richer and fewer people live in dire poverty. Lives are longer and parents no longer routinely watch a quarter of their children die.”
Let's keep the faith.
3
North Korea, like South Korea, is a product of the Cold War frictions between the Communist nations, China and Russia, and the West, notably the US. It makes no sense to the Chinese that they should destabilize or rein in their ally, no matter how belligerent and erratic, unless the US greatly reduces its military presence in the South. Talking aggressively, attempting to shame our ally and the Chinese into taking more aggressive actions, threatening war, demanding total crippling of the North, are steps towards chaos. Trump has shown, over and over that he has no grasp of foreign relations, policy, partnerships, and certainly not diplomacy. We are losing any semblance of international credibility and moral stature. Cooler heads in Congress and even the military had better contain him soon, or we may see crumbling of our international order and even open warfare over his megalomania..
7
John Kennedy, who also early on in his young Administration, faced perhaps even a more potentially lethal conflict involving nuclear weapons during the Cuban Missal Crisis. In seeming sharp contrast to Donald Trump, however, JFK understood that presenting a strong united front through keeping our allies informed and engaged in the process of strategic decision making would be absolutely essential to convincing our adversaries that an armed conflict would not be in their best interests.
I also note that in glaring contrast to the constant stream of public threats, bluster and bravado that normally comes out of the current Oval Office (this time aimed by Trump at the Dictator Kim) that Kennedy kept the tone of his public statements about the crisis more quietly resolute and refrained from any personal back and forth between himself and Nikita Khrushchev; understanding that attempting to bully a bully often times has the counter effect of forcing the bully into more aggressive rash acts, simply in order to save face.
Asking our current President to take a cue from anyone other than himself always seems (at best) a fools errand, but in this case when thousands if not millions of lives are at stake I would hope and pray that at least President Trump would consult the history of the actions of a previous Administration that was able to bring a successful resolution to a similarly dire crisis.
I also note that in glaring contrast to the constant stream of public threats, bluster and bravado that normally comes out of the current Oval Office (this time aimed by Trump at the Dictator Kim) that Kennedy kept the tone of his public statements about the crisis more quietly resolute and refrained from any personal back and forth between himself and Nikita Khrushchev; understanding that attempting to bully a bully often times has the counter effect of forcing the bully into more aggressive rash acts, simply in order to save face.
Asking our current President to take a cue from anyone other than himself always seems (at best) a fools errand, but in this case when thousands if not millions of lives are at stake I would hope and pray that at least President Trump would consult the history of the actions of a previous Administration that was able to bring a successful resolution to a similarly dire crisis.
1
Having lived through the Cuban Missile Crisis as a student only a few blocks from a very dark White House; I can't believe you're equating the two since they are entirely different situations and came on the heels of a failed invasion staged by the CIA at direction of the Kennedy White House....Bobby did it!
Technically we are still at war with N. Korea; so let Trump and staff solve it his way instead of watching Kennedy totally cave into Khrushev's demands for a perm. non-invasion of Cuba. I still remember a pitch black Downtown Washington, D.C. and limos racing around...all because JFK waited until missiles that could reach D.C. had already been deployed.
Technically we are still at war with N. Korea; so let Trump and staff solve it his way instead of watching Kennedy totally cave into Khrushev's demands for a perm. non-invasion of Cuba. I still remember a pitch black Downtown Washington, D.C. and limos racing around...all because JFK waited until missiles that could reach D.C. had already been deployed.
Just wondering 'Cents' if the victims of an all out war on the Korean Peninsula would care (or even know) if they were fried by the Americans or by the North Koreans? And you're saying of course, 'Let Trump be Trump'- That's scary.
1
The day will soon come when a crisis will arise which will need the support of our allies and because of Trump's bellicosity, we will find ourselves isolated. "My way or the highway" is not a sound foreign policy.
3
I don't know anybody that needs to take Dale Carnegie's course, "How To Win Friends and Influence People" more than Donald Trump. I'll even pay for it.
2
Other than for the truly horrendous possibility of nuclear war on the Korean peninsula, this crisis is historically unprecedented for an entirely different reason.
It is, to my knowledge, the first time since WWII that a small country has turned the tables on what used to be a monopoly of Washington's: The standing threat of military violence.
The latter deployed most recently against Venezuela and Iran. This new lay of the land must be driving the neocons and neoliberals up the proverbial wall. I'm hoping it has the unintended consequence of emphasizing the importance of finding non-military solutions to international conflicts.
It is, to my knowledge, the first time since WWII that a small country has turned the tables on what used to be a monopoly of Washington's: The standing threat of military violence.
The latter deployed most recently against Venezuela and Iran. This new lay of the land must be driving the neocons and neoliberals up the proverbial wall. I'm hoping it has the unintended consequence of emphasizing the importance of finding non-military solutions to international conflicts.
There was the Dutchy of Fenwick...but perhaps you don't remember this incident.
No, never heard of them.
Did they have intercontinental nuclear weapons?
Did they have intercontinental nuclear weapons?
S Korean president Park was removed from office early in 2017 for reasons that are still not proven, which opened the door for the weak appeaser Moon to win office. The Seoul television news drummed Park out of office with accusations and innuendo that she was somehow responsible for the ferry boat disaster in 2014 because she was having her hair done that day. Given that months later Park still has not been proven guilty of any serious crime it appears that S Korea has been lost thru a coup driven by hysterical false news reporting.
2
Back back in the 50's there was a cartoon show called "Felix the Cat." He was a sweet little guy and never meant anyone any harm. He had a magic bag of tricks that he used to thwart evil.
There was also robot named Master Cylinder. He had a very mean heart and wanted to rule the world.
Felix saved the day with his bag of tricks.
I never understood Master Cylinder.
Why would anyone want to rule the world?
There was also robot named Master Cylinder. He had a very mean heart and wanted to rule the world.
Felix saved the day with his bag of tricks.
I never understood Master Cylinder.
Why would anyone want to rule the world?
"Why would anyone want to rule the world?"
I remember a HIgh School kid explaining what he would do if he were dictator: He would reduce inequality and put an end to racism and provide universal health care -- and "I would have all the girls I wanted."
I remember a HIgh School kid explaining what he would do if he were dictator: He would reduce inequality and put an end to racism and provide universal health care -- and "I would have all the girls I wanted."
Trump's "insult diplomacy" is going to destroy all alliances, not just this one. Except for dictatorships or near-dictatorships.
Insanity reigns in the White House. Except for the Generals.
Insanity reigns in the White House. Except for the Generals.
Trump to Moon-Jae-in. TRUST ME. I WILL MAKE YOU POOR WHILE KEEPING YOU SAFE.
1
The current administration's hubris and saber rattling is primitive. The one thing that has changed is the administration. The violent, analytic, paranoid men who have taken over our government are the one's who are begging for war. Did you all know that people with really low affect tend toward paranoia and have low life value? Even there own. They are sadistic, sensation seekers. This is Trump's high. He doesn't drink because he's probably a psychopath. When psychopaths drink, they tend to try to kill themselves. So instead of using alcohol to fill the void, they seek thrills. They get thrills from seeing others suffer, pushing boundaries and taking risks. Worst kind of business person - and executive? No - no executive function. Self centered, insecure, sensation seeking.
Be accountable. Not Trump, he can't, he will never be accountable. He's too big a coward. We all most be accountable.
The seven core world class leadership principles: Accountability, Partnership, Integrity, Diversity, Commitment, Vulnerability and Acknowledgement.
People, do that today.
I suggest playing a Trump card. Just be dead weight. Just stop. Stop whatever you are doing.
Greed is primitive. So is lust, pride, envy, sloth, gluttony and wrath. There is nothing great or united about our lower nature.
My father fought in the Korean War in 1952. You've squeezed this country for decades. It isn't working. It's like your only move. Insanity is doing the same thing and expecting different results.
Be accountable. Not Trump, he can't, he will never be accountable. He's too big a coward. We all most be accountable.
The seven core world class leadership principles: Accountability, Partnership, Integrity, Diversity, Commitment, Vulnerability and Acknowledgement.
People, do that today.
I suggest playing a Trump card. Just be dead weight. Just stop. Stop whatever you are doing.
Greed is primitive. So is lust, pride, envy, sloth, gluttony and wrath. There is nothing great or united about our lower nature.
My father fought in the Korean War in 1952. You've squeezed this country for decades. It isn't working. It's like your only move. Insanity is doing the same thing and expecting different results.
Maybe I missed something. Who is doing the saber rattling?
The Korean War ended in 1953. And yet, we still have troops stationed there.
Time to let the Koreans handle their own affair. Sell South Korea a couple of nuclear weapons, to balance the nuclear armed North.
The $ spent on US troops stationed in Korea are better spend at home
Time to let the Koreans handle their own affair. Sell South Korea a couple of nuclear weapons, to balance the nuclear armed North.
The $ spent on US troops stationed in Korea are better spend at home
1
To blame Mr. Moon of making South Korea hostage to a nuclearized North is the height of absurdity. Does anybody seriously believe that North Korea would have acted more reasonably had a conservative government been elected in the South?
As for North Korea acquiring nuclear-tipped ICBMs to drive a wedge between Washington and Seoul, the DPRK hardly needs these with an impulsive and intemperate US president at his Android, tapping out mindlessly hostile invective in the wee hours of the morning.
We have two maniacs at the head of two respectively rogue nations. Nothing good is coming of that.
As for North Korea acquiring nuclear-tipped ICBMs to drive a wedge between Washington and Seoul, the DPRK hardly needs these with an impulsive and intemperate US president at his Android, tapping out mindlessly hostile invective in the wee hours of the morning.
We have two maniacs at the head of two respectively rogue nations. Nothing good is coming of that.
2
The headline for this article stating that "the US and South Korea split . . ." is inaccurate at the very least, and misleading at the worst. Trump alone insulted the South Korean president with despicable and bullying rhetoric--he certainly did not represent the majority of Americans. So, no, the US didn't "split" from South Korea, our feculent and ignorant president spoke out of turn, without approval from Congress. His belligerent words were not spoken with the American people in mind, though they may propel our country and our soldiers into war with North Korea.
2
We, the USA and South Korea, need to be on the same page as to the current crises with North Korea.
As such we should all shut up until some unified common ground is reached. There's no point in giving the North any satisfaction stemming from disunity on our side.
As such we should all shut up until some unified common ground is reached. There's no point in giving the North any satisfaction stemming from disunity on our side.
"Make America Great Again!"
"No ally too great to make squirm under my deal-making skills!"
"Make nuclear war a threat again!"
"Good bye, Los Angeles!"
"What a crowd!"
"No ally too great to make squirm under my deal-making skills!"
"Make nuclear war a threat again!"
"Good bye, Los Angeles!"
"What a crowd!"
2
Oh ok, Trump told them. Told them what? That the alleged path of "appeasement" South Korea is on is inviting their own demise?
Certainly South Korea understands this crisis and all of its dynamics far better than Trump ever will and Trump's lecture via Twitter is insulting and not helpful in any way. The South Koreans are well aware of the dangers of fiery rhetoric and proceed with caution, this is not a course of appeasement.
Perhaps Trump should google "appeasement". Appeasement is what he offered neo-nazis and white supremacist hate groups.
Certainly South Korea understands this crisis and all of its dynamics far better than Trump ever will and Trump's lecture via Twitter is insulting and not helpful in any way. The South Koreans are well aware of the dangers of fiery rhetoric and proceed with caution, this is not a course of appeasement.
Perhaps Trump should google "appeasement". Appeasement is what he offered neo-nazis and white supremacist hate groups.
4
Beyond the sheer stupidity of telling North Korea that we're arguing with South Korea these days, way to shove South Korea towards China, Mr. President.
1
Talk is futile. It has been tried from Bill Clinton on. Kim Jong Un knows history
Muammar Gaddafi traded his nuclear program against assurances from the West and was shot to death in a culvert.
Saddam Hussein vainly bluffed the West in having nuclear weapons ended his days dangling from a rope.
Given the history of the US with dictators she disliked, trading in his Nuclear Program would be suicide for the Kim dynasty.
And he is fully, and correctly, convinced of it.
Muammar Gaddafi traded his nuclear program against assurances from the West and was shot to death in a culvert.
Saddam Hussein vainly bluffed the West in having nuclear weapons ended his days dangling from a rope.
Given the history of the US with dictators she disliked, trading in his Nuclear Program would be suicide for the Kim dynasty.
And he is fully, and correctly, convinced of it.
Kim Jong-un is never going to be appeased. He must go. And China is the only way to get rid of him without setting the entire peninsula on fire. China can starve Kim out. China can foment a revolutiopn in Korea. China is key to resolving this crisis.
Trump is useless in this matter. Worse than useless. The American Department of State is stuck in a quagmire of inexperience and lack of geopolitical thought at the top. (Where are Kennan and Marshall when we need them?)
Trump is useless in this matter. Worse than useless. The American Department of State is stuck in a quagmire of inexperience and lack of geopolitical thought at the top. (Where are Kennan and Marshall when we need them?)
1
Moon Jae-in is the wrong man in the wrong place at the wrong time. He was barely in office when he was criticizing the US for beginning the deployment of THAAD missiles -- then as the threat to the South grew he pleaded for the THAADS -- now who knows what he stands for.
If thirty plus years have taught us one thing, it is that talking has not worked -- worse, it has brought us to the brink. Successive US Presidents have chosen to duck the issue and kick the can down the road. Moon favors more of the same. He either believes what he says, in which case he is a fool, or he doesn't believe it (it's a ruse to avoid taking any meaningful steps) in which case he is a liar. Either way he should go.
This is NOT about Korea, though Korea has the tremendous misfortune to be on the front line. The US has the right to preemptively remove the threat of ICBMs that can reach NYC and Chicago and Seattle. A US that can be threatened by Kim is a US that cannot come to the aid of Japan and Korea.
Do you sincerely want a nuclear arms race in east Asia? Do you sincerely want a maniac who uses his uncle for target practice for his anti-aircraft guns, and who poisons his half-brother with a nerve agent, to be able to blackmail the world? Do you sincerely want other rogue regimes to see Kim get away with his defiance?
If not, the time to act is now. The window will close very soon. Shoot down Kim's missiles, destroy the batteries, and destroy any infrastructure associated with nuclear tests.
If thirty plus years have taught us one thing, it is that talking has not worked -- worse, it has brought us to the brink. Successive US Presidents have chosen to duck the issue and kick the can down the road. Moon favors more of the same. He either believes what he says, in which case he is a fool, or he doesn't believe it (it's a ruse to avoid taking any meaningful steps) in which case he is a liar. Either way he should go.
This is NOT about Korea, though Korea has the tremendous misfortune to be on the front line. The US has the right to preemptively remove the threat of ICBMs that can reach NYC and Chicago and Seattle. A US that can be threatened by Kim is a US that cannot come to the aid of Japan and Korea.
Do you sincerely want a nuclear arms race in east Asia? Do you sincerely want a maniac who uses his uncle for target practice for his anti-aircraft guns, and who poisons his half-brother with a nerve agent, to be able to blackmail the world? Do you sincerely want other rogue regimes to see Kim get away with his defiance?
If not, the time to act is now. The window will close very soon. Shoot down Kim's missiles, destroy the batteries, and destroy any infrastructure associated with nuclear tests.
1
To our South Korean friends and allies, I just want to say I'm so sorry for the lunatic we have as POTUS right now. We don't agree with the idiot and want you to know the vast majority of us support you.
4
What we are seeing in these tweets from Trump is Trump the "businessman".
He is not clever or smart about business he is amoral. Being amoral he is willing to use an sign of weakness to exploit others for a concession or extorted payment. So his taking the opportunity while South Korea is in ultimate danger to try to extort something, anything out of them, obviously a scumbag move to any normal person, is to him just good business.
I'd bet money he has nothing particular in mind and probably has almost no idea about what this relationship has been for nearly 70 years. He simply sees an "opportunity" to exploit someone while they are at a disadvantage (kick em while they are down.).
If you like this I'll remind you all of the consequences of it. Trump and his corporations can no longer get loans from most US banks. It is probably one of the major reasons he went international and got involved with the Russians who as you may have noticed are smart enough to not do business with him in Russia. They use him to launder their stolen money over here, they don't let him in to build there.
What do you think he's going to do to our alliances with this degenerate predatory behavior? That is the same thing driving his false statements about NATO and our alliances in Europe.
He is not clever or smart about business he is amoral. Being amoral he is willing to use an sign of weakness to exploit others for a concession or extorted payment. So his taking the opportunity while South Korea is in ultimate danger to try to extort something, anything out of them, obviously a scumbag move to any normal person, is to him just good business.
I'd bet money he has nothing particular in mind and probably has almost no idea about what this relationship has been for nearly 70 years. He simply sees an "opportunity" to exploit someone while they are at a disadvantage (kick em while they are down.).
If you like this I'll remind you all of the consequences of it. Trump and his corporations can no longer get loans from most US banks. It is probably one of the major reasons he went international and got involved with the Russians who as you may have noticed are smart enough to not do business with him in Russia. They use him to launder their stolen money over here, they don't let him in to build there.
What do you think he's going to do to our alliances with this degenerate predatory behavior? That is the same thing driving his false statements about NATO and our alliances in Europe.
1
On this and other issues we need to start treating President Trump more like the crazy uncle in the attic than a rational, sane person. Policies don't get tweeted. Executive orders are not flung off in the middle of the night. Emotional outbursts do not constitute sober statements of policy. This man is not to be taken seriously. Our civil servants, including the armed services, and the states, need to hold a to rational course. I would guess within a year to eighteen months, as the Mueller investigation tightens, he will resign. In the meantime our civil servants need to prevent disaster and catastrophe. This is a unique situation.
5
If you listen to the American corporate media, this has the same exact ring to it as the booga wooga incitation on Iraq that all participated in. The south Koreans are viewed as sort of an odd attitude to the problem, almost as if they had nothing to do with the discussion. This is their country and the casual warmongering going on in America by the usual neocon circles does not even take that into account. The rhetoric of course is designed to deflect attention from the fact that their are no real choices in the present situation unless you want a nuclear war on the Korean penninsula Who knows maybe the neocons are that nuts.
Right now the only thing Trump "knows" about South Korea is that it is in his way and he cannot do anything about its position on the globe. Were it not for the existences of South Korea, he believes he could destroy the North with "fire and fury" without further consequence and be done with Kim. As such, the only reason North Korea is a problem is because South Korea is in his way. He really is that simple minded.
5
Our brilliant, "deal-making" president is too dense to understand that nothing would please Kim Jong-un more than to see a fracturing of the U.S. alliance with South Korea.
21
Insert China where you say Kim Jong-un and you've got it nailed.
I suspect Trump is trying to break our alliance with South Korea just the way he tried to alienate the European Union. He must figure that denigrating Moon will get a favorable reaction from Kim Jong Un, and by cutting our democratic friend loose perhaps he can cuddle up to yet another dictator. And that will give him another chance to declare victory.
2
The fact is that the US got a sound spanking from North Korea and China in 1950, and the US is still smarting from that defeat. Time to get over that.
7
If you say the "US got a sound spanking" and suffered "defeat," then you must say the same for both North Korea and China, who did not win the war they started, because it ended in stalemate. If the US attacks North Korea, then it would be America's fault for violating the ceasefire agreement, by the way. Nobody "won" the Korean War and the Koreans themselves suffered the most, especially the North Koreans, who on top of the violence of war have had to endure over 60 years of the harshest form of communist brutality. Yet they are solidly united on the idea that their nation should never again be dominated or threatened by foreign powers.
1
If South Korea or Japan trust Trump, their leaders are hopelessly stupid. It is time for South Korea and Japan to recognize that they have no choice but to ally themselves with China.
6
As the entire world looks to Washington for signs of some enlightened leadership, our National Embarrassment does the one thing that emboldens and pleases the unstable government in North Korea: he attacks our most vulnerable ally, South Korea, adding to the unimaginable worry that must now grip that country. Perhaps this incompetent is too busy putting his foot on the neck of young `dreamers' to realize the consequences of his reckless talk.
7
In many respects, the N. Korean regime is more stable than whatever passes for politics in S. Korea.
"most vulnerable ally"....19 military bases, nuclear submarines, B2 bombers and cruise missiles within striking distance and somehow you think them vulnerable? No wonder Trump is seen by much of the world as a major deal maker and praised by the BBC.
"most vulnerable ally"....19 military bases, nuclear submarines, B2 bombers and cruise missiles within striking distance and somehow you think them vulnerable? No wonder Trump is seen by much of the world as a major deal maker and praised by the BBC.
Kim Jong-un threatens the US. Kim threatens South Korea. Kim threatens Japan. Kim threatens Australia. Kim threatens Donald Trump. Donald Trump threatens Kim. Trump threatens North Korea. Trump threatens South Korea. Trump threatens China. Trump threatens Russia. Trump threatens Mexico. Trump threatens Iran. Trump threatens . . . the list goes on.
1
Mr. Moon's political perspective is certainly understandable but potential impacts from the North's behavior now extend far beyond the borders of South Korea. Meanwhile, the Times continually cites alleged experts who suggest further trade sanctions will not work.
Given that 24 years of diplomacy have failed at every turn we must ask ourselves what solutions might exist to the growing threat posed by the North? Experts cite the catastrophic economic damage that would result from the administration's proposed trade sanctions against China and other nations who do business with the North. But it is fair to say that these experts have been wrong at every turn.
What will be the comparative economic damage when the North finally hurls a dozen nukes at the United States?
Ms. Haley is correct. The time to act has come since Seoul is no longer the only major city under threat. It's all too clear that the man threatening to shoot us indeed has a gun in his hand.
Given that 24 years of diplomacy have failed at every turn we must ask ourselves what solutions might exist to the growing threat posed by the North? Experts cite the catastrophic economic damage that would result from the administration's proposed trade sanctions against China and other nations who do business with the North. But it is fair to say that these experts have been wrong at every turn.
What will be the comparative economic damage when the North finally hurls a dozen nukes at the United States?
Ms. Haley is correct. The time to act has come since Seoul is no longer the only major city under threat. It's all too clear that the man threatening to shoot us indeed has a gun in his hand.
4
Moon's strategy makes sense. Before going to war and subjecting your citizens to death at least talk and attempt o avoid war. Thiis isn't appeasement, but simply a way to possibly avoid war and the death of thousands of persons in Korea. In contrast, Trump and his generals and supporters claim NK is begging for war even though NK would be destroyed if war resulted. Trump and his supporters will lead the U.S. down a path to another war in Korea and the dealths of thousands of NK and SK citizens.
Personally I don't blame the Koreans for trying to act independently. It's their country.
That said, there's no blinking the fact that this is a nuclear conflict between nuclear powers. It is going to have to be handled that way. South Korea finds itself in the passenger seat, not the driver's seat.
I see two possible paths to a solution, which I call the "high road" and the "low road."
The high road basically would involve a bilateral grand bargain between the US and the DPRK. The US would agree to abandon South Korea, and the DPRK would agree to economic and political integration with the ROK.
The low road would involve a bilateral bargain between the two Koreas. They would agree to economic integration through an open border, guaranteed and supervised by both the US and China.
Both roads are very dangerous. But the alternative is acceptance of permanent DPRK nuclear arsenal, which ill inevitably lead to the nuclearization of both South Korea and Japan, and a new order in the North Pacific.
That said, there's no blinking the fact that this is a nuclear conflict between nuclear powers. It is going to have to be handled that way. South Korea finds itself in the passenger seat, not the driver's seat.
I see two possible paths to a solution, which I call the "high road" and the "low road."
The high road basically would involve a bilateral grand bargain between the US and the DPRK. The US would agree to abandon South Korea, and the DPRK would agree to economic and political integration with the ROK.
The low road would involve a bilateral bargain between the two Koreas. They would agree to economic integration through an open border, guaranteed and supervised by both the US and China.
Both roads are very dangerous. But the alternative is acceptance of permanent DPRK nuclear arsenal, which ill inevitably lead to the nuclearization of both South Korea and Japan, and a new order in the North Pacific.
4
The US military has long blocked reunification talks, media says 'stalled', and it's time for the President to intervene, sign the peace treaty and broker reunification using previously agreed up elements and disposition of the 19 + military bases we use to 'occupy' S. Korea.
.....give pea's a chance and forget the failure of Obama to settle this issue.
.....give pea's a chance and forget the failure of Obama to settle this issue.
Creating a wedge between South Korea and the United States is exactly North Korea's strategy... and also that of Russia... and the "People's Republic" of China.
11
It's fair to ask why Trump always seems to choose the hardest path with the most potential damage. Months ago I assumed it was incompetence. Now I'm certain it has more to do with a malevolent heart.
9
Remember that the Ex-President Park Geun-hye visited Beijing and reviewed the military parade together with Xi Jinping and Putin at the Tiananmen Square, 2 years ago.
Today's President Moon Jae-in is further closer to China and NK.
His cherished opinion is that SK should be integrated by NK peacefully.
Today's President Moon Jae-in is further closer to China and NK.
His cherished opinion is that SK should be integrated by NK peacefully.
4
That is outrageously false. It is natural and wise that a leader like Park, representing a nation described as a "shrimp among whales" would reach out to those neighbors with some degree of respect and diplomatic courage, and in the case of China, even learn their language — keeping in mind that Chinese has historically been the main conduit of culture and trade for centuries. But Park Gun-hye is as right-wing of a conservative and anti-communist as one could be. Indeed, her mother was assassinated by a pro-North Korean "spy" (and her father, the right-wing dictator Park Chung-Hee, was assassinated by the head of the South Korean CIA (KCIA) for a long list of crimes, including torturing alleged communists until they confessed). Moon represents the popular sentiment that Koreans need to dialog with their North Korean kinsmen, regardless of the shifting geopolitical winds. With neighbors like the above (China, Russia, DPRK plus Japan that colonized them for 50 years), all South Koreans hope to avoid war. And they have already tried not talking to or relating to the communist world.
We are going to wind up with a nuclear-armed South Korea. And then a nuclear-armed Japan. And so forth. This will make the world an even more unsafe planet than it already is. The slightest muscle twitch by Kim Jong Un, Xi Jinping or Trump could cause a nuclear conflagration in Asia that would make Hiroshima and Nagasaki look like a picnic.
Look for the U.S. stock market to crash soon, taking with it the recent uptick in U.S. growth, as folks realize this might just be the time to wait and see what's going to unfold over the next few months -- or perhaps weeks or days.
Look for the U.S. stock market to crash soon, taking with it the recent uptick in U.S. growth, as folks realize this might just be the time to wait and see what's going to unfold over the next few months -- or perhaps weeks or days.
Trump has damaged U.S. relations with almost every country in the world.The only leaders Trump has improved U.S. relations with are Saudi Arabia and Israel by selling them weapons and giving them support to kill whomever they want.
2
Appeasement only emboldens tyrants like Kim Jung-un. His own father played President Clinton like a fiddle in the 90's, promising to use the nuclear technology and billions of fuel oil that Clinton gave North Korea for peaceful purposes. The end result was a nuclear weaponized North Korea, threatening and extorting it's neighbors and the U.S. Face the little bully now, or face the prospect of Kim Jung-un exporting his nuclear weapons to terrorists who will use them here in America.
1
Look at the picture accompanying this story. trump--always looking at the camera. Everyone else is otherwise involved but trump knows where that camera is and makes sure it is pointed at him.
2
How frightened the North Korean dictator must be. Keeping Korea separated by terrorizing his own troops, surrounded by powerful nations all of whom could benefit by Korean peace and reunification. No wonder he is pushing outrageous acts in everyone's faces. Distraction, hoping he is postponing his inevitable demise.
Choe Sang-hun seems to think that South Korea's "challenge is to live with a nuclear-armed North," which is folly. Nobody, including the Chinese can "live" with a nuclear-armed North Korea. The diplomatic reality at present is really in the hands of US and China, specifically what the Chinese will permit the US to do without a wider nuclear war erupting across the Far East. If Trump wants to use his thermo-nuclear muscle, as he implies, he had better be ready and willing to take on China in the fullest sense. Unfortunately for President Moon and the Japanese, they have become victims caught in the middle of what looks more and more like the worst outcome possible, allies or not.
1
Richard Haas (once on the NSC Staff) and William Cohen (once Sec of Defense) said on MSNBC thin morning that the U.S. faces "binary options" (Haas) on the DPRK issue, and (Cohen) that the U.S. must convince China, Russia, and the DPRK that unless the latter "changes course," the U.S. must work to change the regime (he didn't hint on how we might do that.) This set me to thinking about Yale University Prof. Paul Bracken's 1998 book, "Fire in the East." Bracken wrote that technology in the late 20th Century makes it possible for Asian nations to militarily defy 500 years of dominance by the West. Twenty years later, the U.S. perhaps must face squarely this dilemma.
According to the Economist, a conservative British magazine, Trump "lacks intellectual engagement in foreign policy and disdains diplomacy itself, except when it is conducted via bombastic tweets." This, coupled with his failure to adequately staff the State Department, has made all our allies nervous. A recent poll by the Pew Research Center found that Japanese confidence in America was 54 percentage points lower than it was during Obama's presidency, Australian confidence had fallen by 55 points and South Korean confidence by 71 points. And still Congress does nothing!
23
The problem with negotiating with the North is its past history of breaking all its promises once it had already garnered the benefits of having made them. No matter what is given them, the North will not give up its nukes under any conditions, not least because it sees them as both the ultimate guarantor of regime continuity versus the US and as a welcome source of extortion against the West.
South Koreans fear the Norks will use their nukes as a wedge, offering to freeze its nuclear program in return for withdrawal of US troops? But that is what it has been demanding all along - that is precisely what negotiating with it will result in. And even should all US troops be withdrawn from the South, Kim Un Nutjob will revive his program whenever it suits him anyway.
Ultimately, the US may face a dilemma as to whether we are willing to trade Los Angeles or San Francisco to pave North Korea 10 times over, a decision no US president will make. We should therefore announce that, should the North's program continue, we will assist both South Korea and Japan to develop and deploy their own independent nuclear deterrents as well as providing them with greatly expanded anti-missile defences.
South Koreans fear the Norks will use their nukes as a wedge, offering to freeze its nuclear program in return for withdrawal of US troops? But that is what it has been demanding all along - that is precisely what negotiating with it will result in. And even should all US troops be withdrawn from the South, Kim Un Nutjob will revive his program whenever it suits him anyway.
Ultimately, the US may face a dilemma as to whether we are willing to trade Los Angeles or San Francisco to pave North Korea 10 times over, a decision no US president will make. We should therefore announce that, should the North's program continue, we will assist both South Korea and Japan to develop and deploy their own independent nuclear deterrents as well as providing them with greatly expanded anti-missile defences.
5
Putting nuclear weapons in more and more hands would be the ultimate failure of apprehension of consequences.
2
Yeah, but it's certainly be in keeping with Trump's general policy of making whatever's bad considerably worse.
Trump must understand that a chain is only as strong as its weakest part. In a larger scheme of things the US leadership and power in the East Asia is squarely dependent on S. Korea just as S. Korea's economic and military capability. To deter NK's nuclear threats effectively let Seoul strengthen its defense capability, conventional as well as nuclear. Inasmuch as I abhor the idea of arms race, President Reagan understood the essence of it when dealing with the former Soviet Union. A strong and independent S. Korea is the best deterence of NK' nuclear threats.
Our know-nothing President might not realize that any military action in N Korea puts S Korea in the direct and awful path of destruction so they definitely should have a voice in deliberations on actions to be taken.
Or maybe Trump just doesn't care.
Or maybe Trump just doesn't care.
8
No maybe about it. trump doesn't care. Unless it is all about him trump doesn't care.
6
In foreign policy, only Trump seems to know how to make enemies of allies - and allies out of enemies
12
POTUS can solve the problem by a stroke of a pen declaring US will stop trading with China until China stops all trading with North Korea. Trump is not doing it because he does not want to spoil Christmas shopping season by removing iphone8, Chritmas lights and all those toys from Walmart shelves. Is one lost Christmas shopping more painful than the loss of million lives?
1
Our own democracy is facing stretch with this dummy president and his crew.
5
Perhaps this is Trump's process of emotionally disengaging from South Korea. Then, when he attacks North Korea and hundreds of thousands of South Koreans are killed, he won't feel too bad about it.
It is not clear to me why American Troops need to be stationed
in South Korea anymore.
South Korea is more modern than America.
They have a well trained Military.
Why should U.S. troops act as a Trigger-Wire for War ?
in South Korea anymore.
South Korea is more modern than America.
They have a well trained Military.
Why should U.S. troops act as a Trigger-Wire for War ?
14
Trump's threat to stop trading with China is an empty threat. He cannot follow through without crashing the American economy and putting thousands of Americans out of work.
There is on further consideration. China is the largest holder of US debt. China could shut the US down in a nano-second if the wanted to. Of course this would send the world economy into a tailspin. Donald Trump should just shut his big yap and cease with his bluster. The world knows the US president is a ridiculous clown.
My country is currently in NAFTA re-negotiations and we can't believe how unprofessional the US administration is. Trump doesn't want "fair trade" He wants to unilaterally dictate the terms of global trade. It doesn't work that way. Trump has no understanding of economics or how global supply chains function. He can't abrogate NAFTA without crashing his own economy. He has no idea of the preferential terms the US received vis a vis Canada. Think electricity and oil sold at below market rate. He slaps a punitive tariff on Canadian lumber in the midst of the huge re-building effort in Texas. The US cannot meet their own domestic demand.
Trump threatens to abrogate the US/South Korea free trade agreement. He is completely oblivious to the fact that South Korean car manufacturers employ thousands of Americans, many in states who voted for him.
Trump has said the US intelligence agencies cannot be trusted. Why would anyone believe anything emanating from the Trump administration?
There is on further consideration. China is the largest holder of US debt. China could shut the US down in a nano-second if the wanted to. Of course this would send the world economy into a tailspin. Donald Trump should just shut his big yap and cease with his bluster. The world knows the US president is a ridiculous clown.
My country is currently in NAFTA re-negotiations and we can't believe how unprofessional the US administration is. Trump doesn't want "fair trade" He wants to unilaterally dictate the terms of global trade. It doesn't work that way. Trump has no understanding of economics or how global supply chains function. He can't abrogate NAFTA without crashing his own economy. He has no idea of the preferential terms the US received vis a vis Canada. Think electricity and oil sold at below market rate. He slaps a punitive tariff on Canadian lumber in the midst of the huge re-building effort in Texas. The US cannot meet their own domestic demand.
Trump threatens to abrogate the US/South Korea free trade agreement. He is completely oblivious to the fact that South Korean car manufacturers employ thousands of Americans, many in states who voted for him.
Trump has said the US intelligence agencies cannot be trusted. Why would anyone believe anything emanating from the Trump administration?
10
Why disguise your point of view as an innocuous question?
2
What is your data set in terms of 'Think electricity and oil sold at below market rate"? I don't believe that statement would be accurate. And in terms of the punitive tariff on Canadian lumber, I don't think the US is concerned about the rebuilding effort in Texas when looking at this issue.
Trade negotiations are always a horse and pony show in terms of what every stakeholder hopes to give up in return for a gain. Trump is playing a poker game - of course he sounds like he wants the sun, the moon and the stars. I think he was voted in by a contingent that were listening to his bluster and hoping that he would go in and get a better deal from the ROW on trade - the US has suffered job losses as much as every other country and trade negotiations now weigh heavily on the impacts to domestic manufacturing and employment counts (watch Canada protect the Auto Pact and the telecom sector with tooth and nail).
Looking at the negotiation tactics Mr Trump uses (noise and bluster are the tactics of choice in public), do we see that everything is damaged beyond repair or do things realign to the better alternative despite the circus? Will his 'go to' of shouting noise at North Korea work at all? I don't know - North Korea is acting completely off its nut anyway (why do we need to be threatened with nuclear?). I bet that South Korea will, per usual, work to their fullest extent to put an end to the panic that North Korea hopes to create.
I don't vote in US elections.
Trade negotiations are always a horse and pony show in terms of what every stakeholder hopes to give up in return for a gain. Trump is playing a poker game - of course he sounds like he wants the sun, the moon and the stars. I think he was voted in by a contingent that were listening to his bluster and hoping that he would go in and get a better deal from the ROW on trade - the US has suffered job losses as much as every other country and trade negotiations now weigh heavily on the impacts to domestic manufacturing and employment counts (watch Canada protect the Auto Pact and the telecom sector with tooth and nail).
Looking at the negotiation tactics Mr Trump uses (noise and bluster are the tactics of choice in public), do we see that everything is damaged beyond repair or do things realign to the better alternative despite the circus? Will his 'go to' of shouting noise at North Korea work at all? I don't know - North Korea is acting completely off its nut anyway (why do we need to be threatened with nuclear?). I bet that South Korea will, per usual, work to their fullest extent to put an end to the panic that North Korea hopes to create.
I don't vote in US elections.
Can anyone really be 'stunned' by Trump's clueless, belligerent 'tone' at this point? Stunned? The man demonstrates his complete inability to do the job Every. Single. Day.
However you might want to deal with SK in private, berating them in public gives aid and comfort to NK. There is no disputing that fact. Yet on he goes.
It's easy to bluster and blow when you're 7000 miles from the threat. Seoul and its 10 million inhabitants sit just 35 miles from the NK border. They could be obliterated by NK's conventional forces in a matter of days.
Does Trump care? Not a whit, as long as he gets to show the world how 'tough' he is. He's doing a crude impersonation of this hero Putin. And he can't pull it off.
The damage he is causing our country will take generations to repair, if it ever can be repaired.
However you might want to deal with SK in private, berating them in public gives aid and comfort to NK. There is no disputing that fact. Yet on he goes.
It's easy to bluster and blow when you're 7000 miles from the threat. Seoul and its 10 million inhabitants sit just 35 miles from the NK border. They could be obliterated by NK's conventional forces in a matter of days.
Does Trump care? Not a whit, as long as he gets to show the world how 'tough' he is. He's doing a crude impersonation of this hero Putin. And he can't pull it off.
The damage he is causing our country will take generations to repair, if it ever can be repaired.
27
In my 74 years never have I experienced a President that treats his Allies with such disrespect. It’s not just South Korea either. Japan, Canada, Mexico, France, Germany, Australia, and others. He made NATO a poster child of losers for not providing more funds to support the Alliance. He has applauded leaders in countries that are known abusers of human rights, Russia, The Philippines, and Saudi Arabia are examples.
His latest tweets directed at South Korea are diplomacy at its worst. And demonstrates a lack of humanity knowing that South Korea will take the brunt of a retaliatory response if North Korea is attacked. President Trump is not just a danger to South Korea but to the world itself. He is incapable of any diplomatic restraint and lashes out whenever things are not going his way.
His latest tweets directed at South Korea are diplomacy at its worst. And demonstrates a lack of humanity knowing that South Korea will take the brunt of a retaliatory response if North Korea is attacked. President Trump is not just a danger to South Korea but to the world itself. He is incapable of any diplomatic restraint and lashes out whenever things are not going his way.
52
I agree with you.
But the Allies of US including Japan can, and must try to, contribute more for the alliance at this crisis.
But the Allies of US including Japan can, and must try to, contribute more for the alliance at this crisis.
No better time to bring the S. Korean leadership, regional stakeholders and international bodies to the table where President Trump with sign the long overdue peace treaty ending the Korean war; and resume the process of reunification while closing the 19 major military bases we have maintained for over a half a century.
Time to put the military under civilian control and end their perpetual state of war in the Korean peninsula and "friction" with native population on Okinawa and elsewhere.
Time to put the military under civilian control and end their perpetual state of war in the Korean peninsula and "friction" with native population on Okinawa and elsewhere.
12
While I would caution against understanding the standoff on the Korean Peninsula as solvable by a US troop withdrawal I would agree that government officials ought to end their craven regard of all things military. A good start would be the ending of saluting military by presidents, a "tradition" started by Reagan (of course.)