New York Times (August 10)
“Mr. Trump has again made himself the focus of attention, when it should be Kim Jong-un, the ruthless North Korean leader, and his accelerating nuclear program.” His “threats have also diverted attention from a genuine accomplishment, the new Security Council sanctions.” This is a time for “prudent, disciplined leadership…. Rhetorically stomping his feet, as he did on Tuesday, is not just irresponsible; it is dangerous.”
Tags: Attention, Dangerous, Disciplined, Diverted, Irresponsible, Kim, Leadership, North Korea Nuclear program, Prudent, Ruthless, Sanctions, Security Council, Threats, Trump
Time (August 9)
“If Trump’s goal with two days of tough talk was to scare North Korea, Kim, the commander, put that idea quickly to rest. He called Trump’s rhetoric a “load of nonsense” that was aggravating a grave situation, adding “sound dialogue is not possible with such a guy bereft of reason and only absolute force can work on him.”
Tags: Aggravating, Bereft of reason, Dialogue, Grave situation, Kim, Nonsense, North Korea, Rhetoric, Tough talk, Trump
The Atlantic (July/August Issue)
Although Donald Trump called Kim “a madman with nuclear weapons,” North Korea’s leader “appears to be neither suicidal nor crazy.” In fact, “he has acted with brutal efficiency to consolidate that power; the assassination of his half brother is only the most recent example. As tyrants go, he’s shown appalling natural ability…. his moves have been nothing if not deliberate and even cruelly rational.” With only bad options for dealing with the North, this is “perhaps the most reassuring thing.”
Tags: Appalling, Assassination, Brutal, Crazy, Deliberate, Efficiency, Kim, Madman, North Korea, Nuclear weapons, Rational, Reassuring, Suicidal, Trump, Tyrants
The Atlantic (July/August Issue)
Although Donald Trump called Kim “a madman with nuclear weapons,” North Korea’s leader “appears to be neither suicidal nor crazy.” In fact, “he has acted with brutal efficiency to consolidate that power; the assassination of his half brother is only the most recent example. As tyrants go, he’s shown appalling natural ability…. his moves have been nothing if not deliberate and even cruelly rational.” With only bad options for dealing with the North, this is “perhaps the most reassuring thing.”
Tags: Ability, Assassination, Brutal efficiency, Deliberate, Kim, Madman, North Korea, Nuclear weapons, Power, Rational, Reassuring, Trump, Tyrant
Korea Herald (June 7)
The Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system “reminds us of the need for self-reliant defense. President Moon should know that he is in a much weaker position” than previous presidents “because the North now has bigger rockets and nuclear bombs. Kim will demand more than his father did if he ever comes to dialogue with us thanks to the ‘Sunshine Policy’ of the new government.”
Tags: Defense, Kim, Moon, North Korea, Nuclear bombs, Rockets, South Korea, Sunshine policy, THAAD, Weaker
New York Times (May 19)
“With North Korea in possession of nuclear weapons and a well-oiled machinery of oppression, a regime collapse may not happen soon. But the Kims will surely fall at some point, quickly and brutally, and when they do South Korea and its allies must stand ready to rescue a nation that has suffered horribly. In the meantime, the United States and America’s allies must remain vigilant and continue to search for ways to deter Mr. Kim.”
Tags: Allies, Collapse, Kim, North Korea, Nuclear weapons, Oppression, Regime, South Korea, U.S., Vigilant
The Economist (January 10)
“North Korea’s strange juggling act is becoming ever more precarious. The hubbub over The Interview has attracted unwanted attention. “Just because Mr Kim runs a paranoid, delusional despotism, does not mean that the outside world is not out to get him.” In fact, it increasingly seems “the comforting calculation for North Korea’s regime—that, painful though its existence is to its people and the outside world, its collapse would be worse—may not hold for ever in Beijing, Seoul, Tokyo and Washington.”
Tags: Beijing, Collapse, Delusional, Despotism, Kim, North Korea, Paranoid, Regime, Seoul, The Interview, Tokyo, Washington
The Economist (August 11)
How much has changed in North Korea? “If the young Kim really is his country’s Gorbachev, then the West should seize every opportunity to help him go further. If it is merely another charade, then more pressure needs to be applied to the world’s ugliest regime. So far there seems to be room for (very) limited encouragement.”
How much has changed in North Korea? “If the young Kim really is his country’s Gorbachev, then the West should seize every opportunity to help him go further. If it is merely another charade, then more pressure needs to be applied to the world’s ugliest regime. So far there seems to be room for (very) limited encouragement.”
Tags: Change, Gorbachev, Kim, North Korea, Regime
Los Angeles Times (April 4)
Where is the outrage? “In North Korea, children are bred like livestock in labor camps. They are taught to betray their parents. They are worked to death.” Three generations of the Kim dynasty have now “presided over this human rights catastrophe.” Six labor camps house 200,000 inmates who “do hard labor while subsisting on a starvation diet…. They usually die of hunger-related illness before turning 50.” Still America takes little notice.
Where is the outrage? “In North Korea, children are bred like livestock in labor camps. They are taught to betray their parents. They are worked to death.” Three generations of the Kim dynasty have now “presided over this human rights catastrophe.” Six labor camps house 200,000 inmates who “do hard labor while subsisting on a starvation diet…. They usually die of hunger-related illness before turning 50.” Still America takes little notice.
Tags: Human rights, Hunger, Kim, Labor camps, North Korea, U.S.
