"Regrettable" No Nobel Peace Prize for the Orange Orangutan

[MsAnn]

https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/north-korean-negotiator-teases-and-flatters-as-pompeo-enters-second-day-of-talks/2018/07/07/d2a06324-8175-4589-bf08-def6e56aa962_story.html?noredirect=on&utm_term=.c6158cd7a889

North Korea calls U.S. attitude toward talks ‘regrettable,’ ‘robber-like,’ rejecting Pompeo’s assessment

TOKYO — Hours after Secretary of State Mike Pompeo hailed his two-day visit to Pyongyang as a “productive” round of “good-faith negotiations,” North Korea on Saturday sharply criticized U.S. negotiators’ attitude during the talks as “regrettable” and “robber-like,” accusing the United States of making unilateral demands to denuclearize.

The remarks exposed the fragility surrounding discussions at the center of President Trump's foreign policy, raising questions about Pyongyang’s intentions and whether the North Korean Foreign Ministry’s statement represents a temporary outburst or if it signified a deeper misunderstanding between the two negotiating teams.

The statement, issued Saturday by an unnamed spokesman and shared by the state-run Korea Central News Agency, said the United States violated the spirit of the June 12 Singapore summit between President Trump and North Norean leader Kim Jong Un. It contradicted statements made earlier by Pompeo, who signaled the visit made “progress on almost all of the central issues.”

At the same time, North Korea said it still wants to build on the “friendly relationship and trust” that Trump and Kim created during the Singapore gathering. Pompeo did not meet with the North Korean leader during his visit and did not secure a shared understanding of the path to denuclearization.

The secretary has come under increasing pressure to produce results, with Trump having touted the summit as a game-changing moment that eliminated North Korea’s nuclear threat.

[Trump-Kim summit: Trump says after historic meeting, ‘We have developed a very special bond’]

Analysts say that any final accord between the two nations to eliminate Pyongyang’s sophisticated nuclear and missile arsenal will be a long slog with no guarantee of success.

“While we were hopeful there would be some sort of breakthrough, it seems both sides can't even agree to what transpired after countless hours of talks — and that is a massive problem,” said Harry Kazianis, an Asia expert at the Center for the National Interest.

Pompeo told reporters Saturday that the two countries would soon hold working-level talks on the destruction of Pyongyang’s testing facility for missile engines. He also said Pentagon officials will meet with their North Korean counterparts on or around July 12 at the demilitarized zone between the Koreas to discuss the return of U.S. military personnel who died during the Korean War.

Last month, Trump told a crowd of supporters that the remains of 200 service members had “been sent back,” but U.S. military officials later said that was not the case. U.S. officials viewed the issue as an easy confidence-building measure to demonstrate North Korea’s sincerity and have been frustrated with the speed of Pyongyang’s follow-through.

Pompeo said the issues of the testing facility and recovering U.S. remains still need to be finalized. “We now have a meeting set up for July 12 — it could move by one day or two — where there will be discussions between the folks responsible for the repatriation of remains,” he said.

When asked if he came any closer to setting out a timeline to denuclearize, Pompeo said, “I’m not going to get into details of our conversations, but we spent a good deal of time talking . . . and I think we made progress in every element of our discussions.”

Pompeo’s visit to North Korea forced the United States to postpone a planned meeting of U.S. and Indian defense and foreign ministers, so expectations were high among Japanese and South Korean officials that Pompeo would meet with Kim during the two-day visit. State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert, however, said the United States had no expectation of a meeting with Kim even though White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said on July 2 that Pompeo would “meet with the North Korean leader and his team.”

Evans Revere, a former U.S. diplomat with a long history of negotiating with North Korea, said that it was evident now that talks in Pyongyang had not gone well — and that it appeared North Korea may have no intention of actually denuclearizing in the way the United States would want.

“Pompeo appears to have presented the North Koreans with some demands and requirements for real moves towards denuclearization, as opposed to the symbolic steps and empty language Pyongyang has been using so far. He deserves credit for doing so,” Revere wrote in an email.

“But in doing so, he has elicited North Korean ire, and he has now seen the reality of North Korea’s game plan and intentions that many of us have been describing for some time,” Revere added. “Welcome to our world, Mr. Secretary.”

Ahead of the new round of talks, Kim Yong Chol, North Korea’s septuagenarian former spy chief, teased Pompeo, suggesting that the “serious” negotiations the night before may have caused Pompeo to lose sleep.

“We did have very serious discussion on very important matters yesterday. So thinking about those discussions, you might have not slept well last night,” Kim said.

“Director Kim, I slept just fine,” Pompeo responded, according to a pool report provided by reporters accompanying the secretary of state.

Kim Yong Chol, a regime hard-liner who is careful not to act outside Kim Jong Un’s instructions, said he needed to “clarify” aspects of his nearly three-hour negotiations Friday with Pompeo, a desire the top U.S. diplomat immediately echoed.

“There are things that I have to clarify as well,” Pompeo said.

The display of small talk between North Korean and U.S. officials, a rarity given the infrequent contacts between the longtime adversaries, revealed both the tension at the heart of the nuclear negotiations and the increasing familiarity of the two men who have become diplomatic counterparts during Pompeo’s three visits to Pyongyang and Kim Yong Chol’s visit to New York City in May.

Nauert said Pompeo was being “very firm” in seeking three basic goals from the visit: the complete denuclearization of North Korea, security assurances and the repatriation of fallen soldiers.

Diplomats, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive conversations, said the United States continues to struggle to develop a shared understanding of what denuclearization means to North Korea.

Adding to the pressure on Pompeo is a leaked U.S. intelligence assessment casting doubt on North Korea’s willingness to relinquish its arsenal.

Nauert said Pompeo called Trump on Saturday morning to update him on the talks, a call that included White House Chief of Staff John F. Kelly and national security adviser John Bolton.

During the visit, Nauert said, the two sides agreed to set up working groups to deal with the “nitty-gritty stuff,” including verification of efforts to achieve denuclearization, but there was no indication that the North Korean working group would be empowered by Kimm, a necessary ingredient for any progress.

Following last month’s summit in Singapore, senior U.S. and North Korean diplomats struggled to maintain basic communication, leading to concerns that the talks would require Pompeo, who has many other responsibilities, to devote an unmanageable amount of time on the Korea issue.

The top U.S. diplomat said Saturday the two sides “laid out a path for further negotiation” among lower-ranking officials.

Daryl Kimball, executive director of the Arms Control Association, said the ability for those more junior officials to work productively is critical.

“What concerns me at this stage is the secretary of state flying all the way from Washington to Pyongyang to try to engage in detailed working-level negotiations as an ongoing approach to negotiating denuclearization,” he said. “That’s unsustainable.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

•  

 

[Suckrates]

6 minutes ago, MsAnn said:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/north-korean-negotiator-teases-and-flatters-as-pompeo-enters-second-day-of-talks/2018/07/07/d2a06324-8175-4589-bf08-def6e56aa962_story.html?noredirect=on&utm_term=.c6158cd7a889

 

Well that was a Farce as we knew it would be......  but from the Trump camp  "Most Productive meetings ever, it changed our World and we got what we wanted and achieved World Peace".... 

Trump is our new EVITA !

 

[MsAnn]

3 minutes ago, Suckrates said:

 

Trump is our new EVITA !

[RA1]

So, you guys wanted no attempt to contain North Korea?  Generally the choices seem to be war and negotiation.  Which do you prefer?

Best regards,

RA1

[Suckrates]

44 minutes ago, RA1 said:

So, you guys wanted no attempt to contain North Korea?  Generally the choices seem to be war and negotiation.  Which do you prefer?

Best regards,

RA1

 

Trump is not the person to negotiate such a thing... He's volatile, erratic  AND an Egomaniac, 3 traits that dont make for a good, solid negotiation.   We have a better chance with BARNEY.

 

[MsAnn]

28 minutes ago, Suckrates said:

 

Trump is not the person to negotiate such a thing... He's volatile, erratic  AND an Egomaniac, 3 traits that dont make for a good, solid negotiation. 

 

And he's ignorant, uninformed, and  dangerous narcissistic egomaniac, who doesn't have a clue as to our place in the world.

 

[AdamSmith]

3 hours ago, RA1 said:

So, you guys wanted no attempt to contain North Korea?  Generally the choices seem to be war and negotiation.  Which do you prefer?

Best regards,

RA1

The rather severe economic sanctions against the DPRK continue apace, regardless of our Orangutang's tweet of the day.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sanctions_against_North_Korea

[RA1]

What do you think would happen if we were to suddenly drop all sanctions?  Iran should be a clue.  We released their money and they immediately started spending it on war materials and terrorism.   Dictators are not worried about the welfare of their citizens so long as they can maintain power.  I would classify neither Kim Jong un nor the Ayatollah as benign dictators whatever that might mean.

I would be happier if North Korea abandoned its nukes and began trading and acting in a civilized manner but I am not holding my breath.

Best regards,

RA1

[AdamSmith]

5 hours ago, RA1 said:

What do you think would happen if we were to suddenly drop all sanctions?  Iran should be a clue.  We released their money and they immediately started spending it on war materials and terrorism.   Dictators are not worried about the welfare of their citizens so long as they can maintain power.  I would classify neither Kim Jong un nor the Ayatollah as benign dictators whatever that might mean.

I would be happier if North Korea abandoned its nukes and began trading and acting in a civilized manner but I am not holding my breath.

Best regards,

RA1

I was not suggesting we should drop anything until and unless Kim makes real changes. As now seems (and always did seem to many) pretty unlikely.

[MsAnn]

Nukes are his only "Trump" card.

[TotallyOz]

I have yet to discover what makes the USA the country who decides who has nukes and who doesn't?

[AdamSmith]

38 minutes ago, TotallyOz said:

I have yet to discover what makes the USA the country who decides who has nukes and who doesn't?

Self-interest.

Nein?

[TotallyOz]

Sure. But, if you want to be the ones calling the shots, you have to put the ante in the pot (poker analogy). With the USA now withdrawing from leadership, does it expect to continue calling the shots without anteing up?

[RA1]

The US has been paying and paying all these years.  Now may be the time to spread the cost.  Although I was not a fan of LBJ's politics his "come, let us reason together" meaning do it my way worked in many instances.  Trump apparently is going straight to do it my way without the let us reason. 

Best regards,

RA1

[TotallyOz]

2 minutes ago, RA1 said:

The US has been paying and paying all these years.  Now may be the time to spread the cost.  Although I was not a fan of LBJ's politics his "come, let us reason together" meaning do it my way worked in many instances.  Trump apparently is going straight to do it my way without the let us reason. 

Best regards,

RA1

Personally, I am OK with not paying anything. But, then I would expect us to stay the fuck out of everyone's business! We will never do that as we and Trump, feel superior and the rulers of the world.

[AdamSmith]

19 minutes ago, TotallyOz said:

Personally, I am OK with not paying anything. But, then I would expect us to stay the fuck out of everyone's business! We will never do that as we and Trump, feel superior and the rulers of the world.

I think (very illiberal sentiment here) that the world needs a ruler, and we need to be that one.

Trump is a transient spike in the ebb/flow of what the US is on the world stage. As has happened far more than once before. The next Executive will have a lot of sweeping-up-elephant-dung to do because of him. But the global order I don't think will be that much changed.

I, for one, am glad.

[TotallyOz]

1 minute ago, AdamSmith said:

I think (very illiberal sentiment here) that the world needs a ruler, and we need to be that one.

Trump is a transient spike in the ebb/flow of what the US is on the world stage. As has happened far more than once before. The next Executive will have a lot of sweeping-up-elephant-dung to do because of him. But the global order I don't think will be that much changed.

I, for one, am glad.

Unfortunately, it looks like China is stepping up to the plate.  That is not a good thing for the world. But, a very smart move for China. Lets face it, the USA is headed downhill and Trump just make that slide faster. China is deeply investing in other countries.  On my recent trip to Saudi, the major businesses there were Chinese as they are building the high-speed rail.  What the world once depended on the USA for, including technology, we are now being surpassed by other countries.

I hope you are right Mr. Smith and that the next executive will be able to clean up all the shit, but I am not so sure that will be possible. And, I also don't see Trump only being in office for 4 years.  If that scenario, you can take your ebb/flow and flush it. IMHO

[AdamSmith]

2 minutes ago, TotallyOz said:

Unfortunately, it looks like China is stepping up to the plate.  That is not a good thing for the world. But, a very smart move for China. Lets face it, the USA is headed downhill and Trump just make that slide faster. China is deeply investing in other countries.  On my recent trip to Saudi, the major businesses there were Chinese as they are building the high-speed rail.  What the world once depended on the USA for, including technology, we are now being surpassed by other countries.

I hope you are right Mr. Smith and that the next executive will be able to clean up all the shit, but I am not so sure that will be possible. And, I also don't see Trump only being in office for 4 years.  If that scenario, you can take your ebb/flow and flush it. IMHO

I don't think we will have 4 more years of DJT. But I wholly agree that China has already reclaimed the position of global trade (thereby much else) leader they held for the past 2500 years, except the past 3 centuries. And their view of the Long Game puts ours to shame.

[Lucky]

1 hour ago, TotallyOz said:

Personally, I am OK with not paying anything. But, then I would expect us to stay the fuck out of everyone's business! We will never do that as we and Trump, feel superior and the rulers of the world.

The ability of North Korea to send a nuclear bomb to the United States makes it our business. As members of organizations of Asian states, we have obligated ourselves to their defense as well. Do you think it would not be "our business" if North Korea nuked Japan or South Korea? Thailand?

[TotallyOz]

41 minutes ago, Lucky said:

The ability of North Korea to send a nuclear bomb to the United States makes it our business. As members of organizations of Asian states, we have obligated ourselves to their defense as well. Do you think it would not be "our business" if North Korea nuked Japan or South Korea? Thailand?

I am saying pick a side and stay there.  Under this administration, we have decided to control the rules but not help financially.  China is willing to fill that void. If that continues, we will have less and less control over any situation. 

Years ago, I did feel that we were a moral nation and were in the right in many areas. Now, I feel the opposite. We have ZERO moral authority and we are no longer the leader of the free world. It is reality.

[Lucky]

We can agree on that. Trump is opposed to breast feeding because he is kissing up to the baby food manufacturers. The US browbeat Ecuador into changing its position on the subject or face punitive actions by the US, including cuts in aid. We are now bullies. Just ask North Korea!