HUNGER - North Korea

Politics using people as pawns.

"How sanctions, weather and a bad harvest have left North Koreans without enough to eat" PBS NewsHour 6/20/2019

Excerpt

SUMMARY:  In North Korea, hunger is pervasive, and medical supplies are inadequate, in part because of U.S. and U.N. sanctions.  While China and South Korea are offering humanitarian assistance, U.S. officials fear aid would be usurped by the government rather than distributed among the people who need it.  But as Nick Schifrin reports, conditions in the world’s most isolated country are only worsening.

NORTH KOREA - Ruthless Kim Jong Un

"The ruthless rise of North Korea’s Kim Jong Un" PBS NewsHour 6/11/2019

Excerpt

SUMMARY:  Life in North Korea is difficult for outsiders to imagine.  A new book attempts to pull back the curtain of opacity as it examines the country’s leader, Kim Jong Un, who took over from his dictator father when his older brother fell out of favor.  Nick Schifrin talks to The Washington Post's Anna Fifield, author of “The Great Successor: The Divinely Perfect Destiny of Brilliant Comrade Kim Jong Un.”

TRUMP FAILURE - Post North Korean Summit

North Korea is not about to give up its ONLY hold-card in negations.  North Korean Nuclear Weapons was the only reason for the summit in the first place.

Also, when in comes to rockets, the only difference is the payload.  A satellite payload has different consequence than a nuclear weapon payload.

"After failed summit, what’s next for U.S. policy on North Korea" PBS NewsHour 3/8/2019

Excerpt

SUMMARY:  A little over a week after the second summit between President Trump and Kim Jong Un ended early and without a deal, North Korea watchers have published satellite imagery indicating that a dismantled rocket launch facility is now being reassembled.  What does this development mean for U.S. strategy on denuclearization?  Nick Schifrin joins Judy Woodruff to discuss.

TRUMP FAILURE - North Korean Summit

The build-up:

"Can U.S. post-war relationship with Vietnam serve as a model for North Korea?" PBS NewsHour 2/26/2019

Excerpt

SUMMARY:  In Vietnam, President Trump is preparing to meet with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un -- and the summit's location isn't a mere coincidence.  Indeed, U.S. officials are touting the rapprochement and economic ties that now exist between the U.S. and Vietnam, only decades after brutal warfare divided them.  Nick Schifrin reports on whether U.S.-Vietnam relations can serve as a model for North Korea.

"In Hanoi, Trump looks to develop a ‘phased’ North Korean denuclearization" PBS NewsHour 2/27/2019

Excerpt

SUMMARY:  Last June's summit between President Trump and Kim Jong Un marked the first time a sitting U.S. President met a North Korean leader.  Now the two are convening in Vietnam, whose economic resurgence U.S. officials hope can serve as an incentive for North Korea to prioritize cooperation with the U.S.  Judy Woodruff talks to Nick Schifrin, who is reporting from Hanoi, about the summit's policy goals.

"What Trump’s personal relationship with Kim Jong Un means for U.S. policy" PBS NewsHour 2/27/2019

Excerpt

SUMMARY:  Last June, President Trump called his first meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un a new chapter in the historically adversarial relationship between the two nations.  Since then, American policy toward North Korea has evolved from demanding complete denuclearization to emphasizing peace on the Korean peninsula.  Nick Schifrin reports from Hanoi on how and why that change has taken place.

The collapse:

Kim sucker-punches Trump, again.  So much for the 'good relationship.'
Trump does not understand Kim.  Kim does NOT care about money issues, he ONLY cares about his personal power at home and the world, which overrides all other considerations.  Kim is not about to give up his ONLY negotiating tool, Nuclear Weapons.  After all, the only reason for the summit was Kim's Nuclear Weapons.

"After months of buildup, Hanoi talks conclude early — with no deal" PBS NewsHour 2/28/2019

Excerpt

SUMMARY:  After 8,000 miles of travel and hours of high-stakes discussion, President Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un walked away from the Hanoi summit without a deal.  U.S. officials said that while North Korea agreed to reduce its nuclear facilities, their concessions didn't warrant the requested lifting of U.S. sanctions.  Nick Schifrin reports on the much-anticipated meeting's abrupt conclusion.

TRUMP POLICIES - Kim/Trump Marrygoround

"North Korea’s Kim promises ‘denuclearization,’ but where does diplomacy stand?" PBS NewsHour 1/1/2019

Excerpt

SUMMARY:  Six months after a landmark summit between President Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un seemed to keep the two nations from the precipice of war, Kim says North Korea won't make, test or give away nuclear weapons -- plus he's ready to meet Trump again.  Victor Cha of the Center for Strategic and International Studies and Jenny Town of online policy journal 38 North discuss with Amna Nawaz.

KOREAN DIPLOMACY - Without the United States

aka North Korean Play-Book "How to Sucker the United States"

"Is new North and South Korea deal a significant step toward denuclearization?" PBS NewsHour 9/19/2018

Excerpt

SUMMARY:  A new joint agreement signed by leaders of North and South Korea marked their most significant progress toward peace to date.  Kim Jong Un and Moon Jae-in pledged a "new era," with Kim agreeing to dismantle his main missile testing site, as well as his main nuclear weapons complex -- with conditions.  Yamiche Alcindor talks with Bruce Klingner of the Heritage Foundation and Jenny Town of 38 North.