While on the face of it, one should be glad that the North has offered to speak with South Korea on a number of issues. But people need to take a very, very deep breath and not let their hope that this will mean an end to the problems for history has shown us time and again that this vile regime has used previous talks to say one thing to appease the West (and SK) while playing another game behind the scenes - talking peace while using the stall to continue more development on the nukes and WMD's. Only a fool would trust Kim and take him at face value.
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So the tweets that NYT said were going to end the world instead brought a step towards reconciliation? Weird....
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The fact that the North is willing to join the Olympics may be seen as a symbolic entry I the world stage and as a form to gain world recognition now that they have nuclear weapons. It is also possible that the current regime may be facing some forms of pressure from the people who have been isolated more now that usual. This move could be made to appease those questioning the current regimes ability to assert itself in the eyes of the world.
I'm glad S. Korea has excluded the US (Trump) from interfering in their own ability to chart their destiny forward. I hope calmer heads prevail and we see a change in how Korean relations move forward.
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I hope our, like, really smart president doesn't screw this up.
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At least the N Koreans will be easy to spot in their homemade outfits as opposed to all the others in their expensive fancy designer ski wear.
This is a clear case where U.S. and South Korean national interests diverge. The U.S. wants to limit North Korea's nuclear capability, but in the event of a military conflict, South Koreans would be the first, and probably most numerous, casualties. Mr. Moon's willingness to negotiate independently with Mr. Kim's government should be no surprise. The Olympics provide a very public stage for talks.
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After all the rulers of North Korea do not look as stupid as the Media wants us to believe!
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I hope leftist and coward S. Korean president will not give hundreds of million $ to North Korea as was done by 2 presidents in the past which NK used to build its nuke and rockets. The thick headed SK leaders should've learned that NK will never change and only wants one Korea under communist dictatorial hell and suffering of millions of people in the worst form imaginable. The living condition is actually the same, if not worse, than George Orwell's "1984" novel.
It could be argued that President Trump's actions motivated North Korea to reach out to S Korea.
It can also be argued that the Second World War ushered in a period of cooperation between the US and the USSR, but at what cost?
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Kim is a bit of a mad man. But it's clear his nuclear ambitions were done to secure relief from any outside "regime change" efforts, ala Iraq and Saddam Hussein. Now that he is secure in that, it'll be interesting to see what he does next.
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It will be interesting to see how the liberals and anti-Trump people will find fault with our president on this development. We can be sure they will.
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It's just more distraction and manipulation. They have been exposed as barely hanging on by their fingernails through the escape of two elite DMZ border guards who were malnourished and at least one was riddled with parasites.
If that is the condition of their show troops.....
So yea they are loud mouthed and may have a nuclear weapon or two but they are also very near the edge of collapse.
Let them come and play but do not give them so much as a grain of rice! That was the mistake Clinton made which is why they didn't collapse due to the failure of their ideas 20 years ago.
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All news stories are not equal. There are two subjects which cast a shadow over everything else that clutters the page: The increasing ill-effects of climate change, and the real threat of nuclear war.
The first is our direct future no matter how we slice it, and our continuing ignorance and hubris in the face of this threat will only bring on an unlivable planet all the sooner. But most of us appear unable or unwilling to grapple with what that set of facts really means.
The second threatens to accelerate our slow destruction of the planet to the blinding blink of a nuclear eye. No one wins a nuclear war, and the fact that Trump and Kim Jong-un get out the tape measure to assess what their leadership skills are is an indication of just how unprepared we are to responsibly wield the powerful technological tools we have created.
The fact that the North is going around our spluttering leader to create more hopeful ties with the South is very good news, if not for our standing in the world, at least for the possibility that we may continue to live here.
These two stories---the slow, idiotic dimming down of planetary life through an orgy of carbon consumption, and the fate of humanity which dangles from the balloon of every bombastic tweet in this nuclear stand-off---are what we've got to deal with first, and both point to the same conclusion: Every day Trump remains in office makes it more likely that we will destroy this planet within a generation, or in the blink of an eye.
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There's no thaw, the regime does this every time. They ratchet up the tension then wait until the international community gives them aid/money to reduce tensions. I don't even like Trump but I agree that it's probably time for a military solution. This regime has been playing the UN and US for fools for 30 years now, time for them to go.
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This is a complete waste of time, and not worthy of a breathless headline, let alone any attempts at gaining insights from clueless foreign policy ‘experts’.
We — especially the South Koreans — are being played, that’s all. Rinse. Repeat. Yawn.
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The Global) Arms Industry must be gravely disappointed that talks between the two Koreas have restarted. Puts their business plans (more war) in jeopardy.
But there's always plan B: report a fictitious incident at sea (no witnesses) and respond with war. (Its been done before.)
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I wouldn't trust Kim as far as I could throw him on this one. NK plays nice, the world lets out a sigh of relief, then the next thing ya know another test missile launch and Trump the Dotard is calling for his own version of Fire and Fury on the Korean peninsula. Déjà-vu all over again.
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Good news! Once again, it’s clear that over time blood is thicker than water. Let’s root for the same spirit to extend to the negotiating table too.
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Only a complete fool takes at face value that said by Kim Jong-un or North Korea.
As super-high-ranking North Korean defector Jang Jin-Sung explained in his 2014 book, "when North Korea comes to the table, it's a counter-intelligence operation...North Korea uses dialogue as a tool of deception rather than of negotiation....with the objective being the maintenance of misplaced trust in the other party." North Korea believes that "the United States will buy any lie, as long as it is logically presented" and "South Korea can be ignored or blackmailed."
The Kim dynasty is a sick cult and the Party is a bunch of vicious, deadly crooks. Read the defectors' accounts and don't believe the facade presented by North Korea to the world.
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Some supposed strategic experts have expressed concern that this overture generates the "danger" that North Korea will succeed in somewhat separating the South from the US. Given the lunacy emanating from Trump and Co., I can see only benefits from such a separation. If I were Mr. Moon, I'd rush to embrace Mr. Kim and keep my distance from Trump.
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Some critics in the US see the North Korea's move as an attempt to divide the US-South Korea alliance.. i hope that is not the motive but It is still possible. But this is a very good news for all of us on the planet earth. Who wants nuclear disaster? As Jean Lee, a global fellow at the Wilson Centre, told the ABC last week: :"Instead of the specter of a nuclear disaster, they now have the novelty of North Korean athletes."
No "thaw" and no "breakthrough" for inter-Korean relations. North Korea simply wants its athletes at the Olympics. Once the Olympics are over, North Korea will once again threaten to turn Seoul into a sea of fire.
Kim is all for Korean reunification, but at the expense of killing and enslaving all of South Korea.
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Let's all try to remain more optimistic. Put prayers and good energy out into the Universe.
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Glad to see North Korea doing something positive. Hopefully North Koreans get to see a few glimpses of life in the rest of the world.
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Is it possible that having someone completely incompetent in the worlds top job leads to everyone else working things out for themselves? Ask not what your Trump can do for you ask what you can do for your country? If you believe that you will believe anything.
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Imagine that, the world making progress without the US. Right now we are the problem more often than the solution. I hope the N Korea skaters aren't taking performance enhancement drugs as throwing them out for using could cause a nuclear war. Crossing my fingers that the Olympics will be the beginning of peace between the two Koreas and ultimately the world.
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One way or the other it seems like the trump administration has been able to get the two sides talking. Hopefully something positive will result.
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President Moon deserves Nobel Peace Award!
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Together with Kim. One needs two parties to make peace!
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