May 14, 2018

I Would Like to Understand What Kim Jong-un Is Up To

Yonhap News/Newscom via ZUMA

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Forget Donald Trump for a minute. The upcoming summit meeting with North Korea has been orchestrated entirely by Kim Jong-un. It started with his outreach at the Olympics. Then he proposed the meeting with Trump. He halted missile testing. He met with South Korea and it was all smiles. He’s implied that he’s in favor of complete denuclearization. He released three American hostages. And he’s now planning a public spectacle of destroying North Korea’s nuclear testing site.

What is he up to? One possibility is that he’s genuinely willing to give up his nukes. All his actions make sense if that’s the case.

But no one thinks that’s the case. So what’s going on? Does he really believe that he can squeeze serious concessions out of Trump without verifiably giving up his nukes? Even I don’t think Trump is that dimwitted. So what’s on his mind? Does anyone have a clue?

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