While there were some tentative signs of a diplomatic detente and mending of relations between North and South Korea after today's summit between the two nations, the first in more than two years, it appears any attempts to ameliorate tensions hit a sudden hurdle when the United States is brought into the equation. Case in point, as Reuters reports, North Korea said that it would not discuss its nuclear weapons with Seoul because they were aimed only at the United States, not its “brethren” in South Korea.
Head of the North Korean delegation, Ri Son Gwon shakes hands with his
South Korean counterpart Cho Myoung-gyon
Officials from the two nations sides said they agreed to meet again to resolve problems and avert accidental conflict, amid high tension over North Korea’s programme to develop nuclear missiles capable of hitting the United States, but Pyongyang said disarmament would not be part of the discussions.
"All our weapons including atomic bombs, hydrogen bombs and ballistic missiles are only aimed at the United States, not our brethren, nor China and Russia," Pyongyang’s chief negotiator, Ri Son Gwon, said.
While disarmament was not on the agenda, more diplomacy was: in a joint statement after 11 hours of talks North Korea pledged to send a large delegation to next month’s Pyeongchang Winter Olympics in South Korea but made a “strong complaint” after Seoul proposed talks to denuclearise the Korean peninsula
Meanwhile, North Korea was clear that its beef is not with South Korea, but with just one person: Donald Trump.
“This is not a matter between North and South Korea, and to bring up this issue would cause negative consequences and risks turning all of today’s good achievement into nothing,” Ri, chairman of the North’s Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of the Fatherland, warned in closing remarks.
* * *
Today's meeting between the Korean neighbors comes just hours after the WSJ strategically leaked that the Trump administration, and especially the generals in it, were advocating a "bloody nose" approach to a military conflict with North Korea, effectively a surgical strike which would most likely take out Kim himself.
Desperate to stay relevant, and part of the process, a spokesperson for the White House’s national Security Council said North Korean participation in the Olympics would be “an opportunity for the regime to see the value of ending its international isolation by denuclearising.” Not surprisingly, the US initially responded coolly to the idea of inter-Korean meetings, but Trump later called them “a good thing” and said he would be willing to speak to Kim.
“At the appropriate time, we’ll get involved,” Trump said on Saturday, although U.S.-North Korean talks appear unlikely, given entrenched positions on both sides. Also, in keeping with the party line, the US insists that any future talks must have the aim of denuclearization, and the North-South thaw has not altered the U.S. intelligence assessment of North Korea’s weapons programs.
From a game theoretical standpoint, the Nash (dys)equilibrium between the US and N.Korea looks roughly as follows (via Reuters):
The consensus, according to five U.S. officials familiar with the classified analysis, is that Kim remains convinced the United States is determined to overthrow him and that only a nuclear arsenal that threatens America can deter that.
One of the officials said the North-South talks were likely to follow the pattern of past diplomatic efforts, in which the North has benefited from additional food and other aid without making any concessions on the weapons front.
The additional danger now, said a second official, was that Kim would seek to use the talks to take advantage of Trump’s sometimes bellicose rhetoric to try to drive a wedge between Washington and Seoul.
For now, South Korea is much more receptive to the North's overtures. Still, in spite of the North Korean negotiator’s remarks, South Korea’s Unification Ministry said it believed Tuesday’s talks could lead to discussion of a “fundamental resolution” of the nuclear issue.
“We will closely coordinate with the United States, China, Japan and other neighbours in this process,” it said, adding that Seoul had asked North Korea to halt acts that stoke tension.
Tuesday’s meeting followed a year of ramped-up North Korean missile launches and its sixth and most powerful nuclear test, which have prompted a stepped-up U.S.-led campaign to toughen U.N. sanctions, which Pyongyang has called an act of war.
* * *
As we reported this morning, in an act of concession, Seoul said it was prepared to lift some unilateral sanctions temporarily so North Koreans could visit for the Winter Olympics. North Korea said its delegation would include athletes, high-ranking officials, a cheering squad, art performers, reporters and spectators. Talks to work out details would be held soon, the South’s unification ministry said.
“We came to this meeting with the thought of giving our brethren, who have high hopes for this dialogue, invaluable results as the first present of the year,” Ri said at the start of the meeting.
The talks were the first between the two Koreas since 2015 and were held at the Peace House on the South Korean side of Panmunjom truce village. North Korea cut communications in February 2016, following South Korea’s decision to shut down a jointly run industrial park.
Comments
That’s a relief.
No shit.. it also clears the confusion.
In reply to That’s a relief. by RumpleShitzkin
What the missiles are aimed at is one thing. What they hit is another.
North Korean Ballistic Missile Accidentally Hit A Local Town
https://www.zerohedge.com/news/2018-01-04/north-korean-missile-accident…
In reply to No shit.. it also clears the… by Theta_Burn
"ALL OF OUR NUCLEAR WEAPONS ARE AIMED AT THE U.S." Thank God for that.....now everyone is safe, except maybe for a very unlucky deep sea fishing vessel.
In reply to Where the missiles are aimed… by Billy the Poet
Shouldn't it be NucRear bombs? Or in in George W Bush's native tongue: NucUlar.
In reply to "ALL OF OUR NUCLEAR WEAPONS… by zorba THE GREEK
>Desperate to stay relevant, and part of the process
Tyler is a psychic.
In reply to Shouldn't it be NucRear… by Beam Me Up Scotty
If I was any other country, I'd be like Kim.
In reply to >Desperate to stay relevant,… by tmosley
Not to mention, as we all already know, including the United States.
In reply to If I was any other country,… by whatswhat1@yahoo.com
Fire! Shootem then bitch. Set it off coward. Those arent balls you have down there Kim its a chubby little twat swinging.
Kim is the sick little boy we all knew growing up who would pull the wings off of flies for entertainment.
In reply to Not to mention, as we all… by whatswhat1@yahoo.com
The US only HIT those who can't HIT BACK. Like setting the Middle East ON FIRE for Israhell. http://wp.me/p4OZ4v-2g9
In reply to Fire! Shootem then bitch… by overbet
I talk with South Korean friends who have grown up hoping for reunification. There is no populist desire for war, and the local leaders are well aware. Most likely, if talks go awry, it will be due to some third party false flag, much like we see in other parts of the world, where peace is not in someone else's "interests."
In reply to Fire! Shootem then bitch… by overbet
The democracy is out there. And it will find us.
In reply to I talk with South Korean… by Lore
It's not the type of gov't that's the problem. It's the people running it...
In reply to The democracy is out there… by giovanni_f
that's alright, our northern brethren, we built bunkers for our leaderships, new roads along border, and taught our people how to survive radiation, for the same, please relax.
In reply to >Desperate to stay relevant,… by tmosley
Still think my comments from not just the other day but I've continually said they'll reunite is a joke.
Ive been saying blood is thicker than water not just with the Korean people but other family groups.
Theyre going to reunite with their brethren. China will go with them as well and perhaps even most of Asia when it's all said and done.
Respectfully
In reply to >Desperate to stay relevant,… by tmosley
Lolz ahahahha..... NucRear? ahahhahaha.... that's good shit man...lolz
In reply to Shouldn't it be NucRear… by Beam Me Up Scotty
Trump stole L'il Kim's thunder. Nobody's scared any more.
In reply to "ALL OF OUR NUCLEAR WEAPONS… by zorba THE GREEK
Hopefully only Washington
In reply to Where the missiles are aimed… by Billy the Poet
Probably everywhere else but. Oh wait a minute I am from the south so I am excluded
In reply to Hopefully only Washington by YUNOSELL
No real news is good news. Doom porn for the rest of the world. ZH is rocking the doom porn. Slow night in the financials.
Why cover that news. It only matters for traders. Of course Zero Hedge is about financials and traders. That is your market right? Or did you bring in the political whores and articles to make money and fuck your base. Just saying. Never mind, you lost your base Tyler. You at least look like the whore that you are!
In reply to Where the missiles are aimed… by Billy the Poet
Didn't you get the memo? There are no "financials." It's all fucking fake. The Fed done hijacked the whole shebang!
In reply to No real news is good news… by MozartIII
Yeah.
In reply to No real news is good news… by MozartIII
What happened to your soul? Can you eat money, or have a conversation with financial? Whoever did this to you, deserves to be hanged, poor soul.
In reply to No real news is good news… by MozartIII
THIS IS NOT ROCKET SCIENCE....Oh wait a minute it is rocket science....
In reply to Where the missiles are aimed… by Billy the Poet
I hope they all hit the Left Coast, I hope, I hope, I hope.
In reply to Where the missiles are aimed… by Billy the Poet
Accuracy is not needed, anywhere upwind of a major city for a ground burst, and even least needed for an atomospheric burst.
In reply to Where the missiles are aimed… by Billy the Poet
We DID give them the technology, after all. Only seems fair...
In reply to That’s a relief. by RumpleShitzkin
Jimmah & Bubba gave it to them, even the friggin Chi-Coms & Soviets weren't stupid enough to give him nuke plants...lol.
For da...chilriiin...ostensibley.
And...yet, here we are! ;-)
In reply to We DID give them the… by Van Halen
That's easy!
Everyone always steals it from America!
In reply to We DID give them the… by Van Halen
It's only fair, since America steals from the rest of the world.
Ever heard of the petrodollar?
In reply to That's easy!… by rejected
This little fat faggot doesn't have the guts to flatten DC. He? has fantasy ejaculations about whatever his flavor of serial killing has.
I double dog dare that lil' fag to lob one of his homo bombs on our fabulous capital of their claimed territories. The centgoo claims that they are the owners of all of the innards of the "USA maps".
He doesn't have the guts.
The USA centgoo has no balls or any gonads to reply to this..........
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UopsQyMfy24
The only fecks in DC are the factfinders of Judicial Watch,
Watch Huma Abedin squirm.
In reply to That’s a relief. by RumpleShitzkin
He knows how to handle Trump.
In reply to This little fat faggot doesn… by Tapeworm
Now don't we all feel better now?
I know I'm relieved.
In reply to Now don't we all feel better… by peddling-fiction
War on pause for Olympics.
Good thing we have sports.
Oh wait...
In reply to Now don't we all feel better… by peddling-fiction
Nazi Olympics games come to mind.
In reply to War on pause for Olympics… by ebworthen
The whole circus with North Korea was just a front and pretext for installing the THAAD Missile System, to gain a strategic missile advantage over China and Russia.
The real war circus will start sometime after the Winter Olympics, and it will flare up in Syria and Ukraine.
The (((Bolsheviks descendants))) won't won't rest and won't stop stirring the MIC pot, until they have war with Iran and Russia.
In the meantime they are buying up primo real estate in Cape Town and Argentina.
In reply to Now don't we all feel better… by peddling-fiction
lol...I'd like to invite this stupid bastard to one of my parties ;-)
If he accepts the invite...don’t forget lil ol me.
could use the laughs, some palm trees and sunshine
In reply to lol...I'd like to invite… by nmewn
Gotcha, I'm thinkin he's has enough hot air in him to still be buoyant.
We can have Drunkin Dunkin Líl Kim boat races! ;-)
In reply to If he accepts the invite… by RumpleShitzkin
Better order an extra tray of sausage & peppers for that hungry bastard..
In reply to lol...I'd like to invite… by nmewn
And a few tins of Dapper Dan.
he no rikey Fopp, dammit! He’s a Dapper Dan man.
In reply to Better order an extra tray… by Theta_Burn
He'd be great at a party, but dont call him stupid, the girls get turned off.
And his father is known, so skip the bastard part too.
In reply to lol...I'd like to invite… by nmewn
His father is not the big banana Kim Iíl II Jong (or whateverthefuck)?
We talkin Mao's cousin or Bill Klinton acting as global ambassador to Jimmah Billy Be Bob spreading his nuclear seeds here?...I'm all ears! ;-)
In reply to He'd be great at a party,… by refill6times
Yeah, possibly, mid 80's billy bob being between jobs, but NK a hard "cuntry" to penetrate, and to that hillbilly, all nork beaver look the same, so, maybe not, but he has been one lucky son of a gun, so maybe, hell yeah!
In reply to His father is not the big… by nmewn
Take care of your self! Next few years will be real (2-5).
In reply to lol...I'd like to invite… by nmewn
Stupid bastard?
Seems he playing a pretty good hand at poker. If the US even 'thought' he didn't have capable nukes NK would already be history.
IMO he is doing what a leader should do to protect his nation and people. Stupid? Don't think so. He's probably scared shitless.
Too bad we can't say the same about our psychopathic 'leaders'....
In reply to lol...I'd like to invite… by nmewn
Missiles "aimed" at Washington. I suppose they won't mention the thousands of artillery pieces ready to destroy Seoul.
Funny, whenever things heat up the Ding Dong fans always mention the artillery pieces. Now, not even a whisper.
This is such a fucking shit show. Disingenuous BS.
In reply to Stupid bastard?… by rejected
Hmmm...Wu Fat didn't mention Japan.
Fake News
“The consensus, according to five U.S. officials familiar with the classified analysis, is that Kim remains convinced the United States is determined to overthrow him and that only a nuclear arsenal that threatens America can deter that.
One of the officials said the North-South talks were likely to follow the pattern of past diplomatic efforts, in which the North has benefited from additional food and other aid without making any concessions on the weapons front.
The additional danger now, said a second official, was that Kim would seek to use the talks to take advantage of Trump’s sometimes bellicose rhetoric to try to drive a wedge between Washington and Seoul.”
Pagination