North Korea’s Ju Yong Chol, an official at the UN mission in Geneva, has announced that his nation no longer considers itself bound by previous commitments to halt nuclear weapons testing or launches of long-range missiles.
Ju cited the passage of a December deadline to restart negotiations with the US and further complained about the “brutal and inhumane” sanctions the US has imposed on North Korea.
US sanctions have been a major issue in US-North Korean relations, as the weapons testing freeze, and a similar freeze on US wargames, were meant to ease tensions and make way for negotiations. During that time, however, the US not only resisted easing sanctions but greatly tightened them, much to the North Koreans’ annoyance.
Hopes for denuclearization and a peace deal have rested on North Korea wanting something in return for scrapping their nuclear program. So far, the US has spurned such suggestions, and insists North Korea is obliged to fulfill such commitments without anything coming to them.
People keep talking about how Trump’s “art of the deal” is about pressuring opponents with threats to force them to negotiate. It’s pretty obvious now with proof from both North Korea and Iran that Trump’s real “deal” is “do what I say or else.”
Except as long as he can’t afford to start a war with North Korea – due to massive US casualties that would result – he’s got no “or else” to work with, either.
And as for Iran, he seems ball-less in that court as well, since he doesn’t want to be *blamed* for starting the war there even if he wants one. And if he doesn’t want one, then he’s demonstrating massive stupidity by continuing to drive Iran into a position where they will have to quit not only the JCPOA but the NPT as well. So whether he wants one or not, he’s going to get one because if Iran quits the NPT, he’s got zero cards to play except war. In fact, he has zero cards to play now since he can’t afford to tick off the neocons and Israel.
It’s now proven by any shadow of a doubt that there is *no* “genius plan” behind anything Trump does. He’s simply an ignorant idiot with no comprehension of what he’s doing on any level whatsoever in any arena whatsoever. domestic, political, or foreign.