Diplomacy 101 – North Korea 5/27/2018

27, May 2018                         Diplomacy 101 – North Korea

Once again the mercurial Donald Trump pulled the carpet from his meeting with Kim Jong-un of North Korea catching South Korean president completely by surprise has given how unctuous Mr. Moon has been in his praise of Mr. Trump, despite the misgivings of many South Koreans.

Trump’s hasty decision followed threats of using the Libyan model which was interpreted as a direct threat to Kim and millions of North Koreans.

The Libya model is another dark chapter in Libya-US relations. In 2003, long-time Libyan President Muammar Gaddafi stunned much of the world by renouncing Tripoli’s weapons of mass destruction (WMD) programs in return for sanctions relief and welcoming international inspectors to verify that Tripoli would follow through on its commitment. Following the disarmament, the US reneged on its promise to Libya for normalizing relations with the West and orchestrated Kaddafi’s assassination in 2011.

Boasting that his nuclear arsenal would wipe out the North Korean peninsula and threaten Kim with the same fate as Gaddafi, Trump damaged patient diplomatic efforts by the South Koran president in one devastating infantile letter. According to NBC reports Secretary of State Mike Pompeo privately blamed National Security Adviser John Bolton for torpedoing the talks. Not to be outdone Vice-President Pence echoed Trump’s threats.  The decision was made so abruptly the Trump administration did not have time to notify congressional leaders or foreign allies, including South Korean President Moon Jae-in. To add insult to injury, Pompeo incorrectly referred to the North Korean leader as Chairman Un!