N Korea to send team to Winter Games; South to consider easing bans after talks

Here's hoping these talks bear fruit. Engagement is the only way to peacefully solve the various issues surrounding the DPRK.

This will prove fruitless as always. North Korea is essentially just a giant brat who thrives off of attention. They will act out in order to gain worldly attention, then they'll calm down a bit, try to act cute and cuddly in order to have some "meaningful talks" and then decide next week to test another atomic bomb or missile, blame the US for it, and call South Korea puppets of their Imperial Master - and all will go back to the usual.

Lay out for them in these talks a clear red line - if you do this, this and this again, we are done with you, the sanctions can keep building until you wither away into dust - or follow these sensible guidelines like the rest of the civilized world, and you can once again join the global community.

Lay out for them in these talks a clear red line - if you do this, this and this again, we are done with you, the sanctions can keep building until you wither away into dust - or follow these sensible guidelines like the rest of the civilized world, and you can once again join the global community.

Dictaring to the DPRK has never worked.

OK, so I have been thinking that if North Korea goes to South Korea for the Winter Olympics, that we should call for Chairman Kim, and Presidents Moon, Trump, Xi, and Putin to meet in Hiroshima, take an extensive tour of the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum, then meet for talks. I don't know that it would do any good, but my visit to the museum changed my life.

Dictaring to the DPRK has never worked.

Neither has appeasement. "Talking" when NK refuses to stop their nuclear and missile development, in fact even refusing to even discuss them, is simply buying them time.

Sanctions have worked though. Back in 2003 when NK walked out of the 6-party talks, China stopped all oil supplies to NK. In 3 days North Korea returned to the negotiating table. Whether the current sanctions work or not depend on China and Russia really enforcing it.

OK, so I have been thinking that if North Korea goes to South Korea for the Winter Olympics, that we should call for Chairman Kim, and Presidents Moon, Trump, Xi, and Putin to meet in Hiroshima, take an extensive tour of the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum, then meet for talks. I don't know that it would do any good, but my visit to the museum changed my life.

Im not sure what good that would do except convince Kim he should continue to play the victim card and never acknowledge he did anything wrong.

And the visit literally changed your life? Seriously?

Yep. Went from being a hard-core, kill-them-all-let-god-sort-it-out ultra-religious conservative to an atheist libertarian, or perhaps libertarian atheist. Not sure which is more important to me at the moment. Not in one fell swoop, but it certainly started on my new path.

In any event, I agree it probably wouldn't do much good, looking at two of those I mentioned, but it sure would be nice to give it a try.

A waste of time and just cover for NK to funetune their thermonuclear arsenal in the background, that is already capable of extinguishing tens of millions. The time for talks have long passed and I no longer empathize with SK's position much after this latest appeasement of NK

Good news for the day. Bad for USA arms sales. Bad for Abe who needs an excuse to hide his failing, but I’m sure “china” will be his next excuse.

Humans who are effectively prisoners in a totalitarian prison state marching with the South Korean side and sending a cheerleading team (whose families would be imprisoned if they fail to return)? Does no one else see a problem with this?

All desire a solution, but pretending NK is a normal country is not it.

She says the North Koreans are totally different now and the economic cost would be unbearable. I wonder what percentage of South Koreans actually support unification

Same here. Everytime i spoke about reunification to Koreans i sensed embarrassment (shame?) and felt they wanted to distance themselves from their nk counterparts (could be because they were talking to a westerner, dunno). I think cashed up, materialistic Koreans don't really support the idea tbh. Might be different with older generations and country ppl though.

As an aside, am not sure most east/west Germans wanted reunification either? East knew it would be an 'anschluss' rather than a merger and West G had a lot to lose & little to gain. Same with Korea.

@laguma. Ever been to NK? maybe people there just wanna live in peace? And have food and fuel?

Not sure if it is such a good idea that DPRK are at last inviting themselves to the games, after the application date deadline. Do they have some super special right or privilege? They lost the figure-skating slot, which was then handed to Japan, but now they are saying they were not informed that Japan had taken 'their' slot.

A waste of time and just cover for NK to funetune their thermonuclear arsenal in the background, that is already capable of extinguishing tens of millions. The time for talks have long passed and I no longer empathize with SK's position much after this latest appeasement of NK

Tough talk. Care to sign up at your nearest recruitment office? Thanks.

Waste of time, the NK will be back to their typical old tricks once the games are over and they will again have achieved another closer step to obtaining a bomb. The NK have been doing this for 30 years and the SK like a battered wife running back for more abuse gets taken in every single time and this time won’t be any different. I understand the South and their desire to have dialogue with the North, but it’s all the same tatctical ploy.

Waste of time,

Only a warmonger would make this statement.

the NK will be back to their typical old tricks once the games are over and they will again have achieved another closer step to obtaining a bomb.

They already have multiple atomic bombs.

OssanAmericaToday  12:01 pm JST

Dictaring to the DPRK has never worked.

Neither has appeasement. 

This is not appeasement. Words have meanings, please use them correctly.

Incidentally, diplomacy has *the best *history of success with North Korea. It was with diplomacy that Bill Clinton got weapon inspectors on the ground in North Korea. It was only when Bush Jr. began his penile-insecurity-based approach to foreign policy that North Korea became intractable.

But you know, it's important for Americans to feel tough when they talk about North Korea. Getting a successful resolution to the problem may not be as important as making sure everyone hears about how our button is bigger. harder. stronger. harder. pounding it.

just pounding it.

(pounding it)

Katsu: Nice recitation of facts. Funny as hell also. Literally made me LMAO. Thanks for that.

Only a warmonger would make this statement.

Only the cowardly left would say that.

They already have multiple atomic bombs

None of them accurate. I also don’t think their button works.

Worth noting that Trump's hated rival, Kim Jong Un, is being invited to send athletes to the Winter Olympics in South Korea while that of Trump's BESTY, Putin- the Russian Olympic team- has been banned from the 2018 Winter Games because of evidence of a systematic state-sponsored doping program...

Only the cowardly left would say that

Only a John Wayne wannabe cowboy conservative would discount diplomacy. Yee-haw!

None of them accurate.

Your original post was that the DPRK was buying time so they could get one step closer to obtaining a bomb. Additionally, bombs aren't accurate, the delivery systems are.

I also don’t think their button works.

You can think that all you want, but their multiple nuclear tests prove otherwise.

I applaud Supreme Leader Kim Jong-Un for (finally) not playing into the hands of militaristic nationalists and spoiled retards (one piece each). I enjoyed his planet-scale pranks but it is time to finally right the wrong done more than half a century ago. Best not to bring neither Japan or USA to the talks, since neither "leaders" have a say in the unification and friendship of SK and NK, and nor they would be up to help with the talks, since they would not profit from peace and harmony between the Koreans. Do not let the world down, Koreans, please.

Goldorak, that is wrong, the main problem with unification was and is the difference in both economic and cultural values, not mentioning the seeds of improper behaviour that was still present in East Germans because of corrupt late soviet bureaucracy system.

Some don't like it, it is understandable. They do not want anymore hardships to overcome, even when they are considerably not their hardships, but those of North Koreans. They do not want to share money, culture, even space, just anything. That is understandable, and that is a pitiful stance on human kindness. Unless they finally overcome the historical context and bring themselves closer to each other, as a one nation - one race, they will never get over the animosity between them and it will always remain a corruption upon their and future generations. Everyone loses. But if they produce effort to try to make the transition as smooth as possible and support unity between them, then one day they will be able to work hand in hand without ever remembering that this neighbour of their, the same as them, was called their "enemy" in the past.

Only a John Wayne wannabe cowboy conservative would discount diplomacy. Yee-haw

If that were true, NK would have been incinerated a long time ago.

Your original post was that the DPRK was buying time so they could get one step closer to obtaining a bomb. Additionally, bombs aren't accurate, the delivery systems are

Which is located inside the bomb. Exactly.

You can think that all you want, but their multiple nuclear tests prove otherwise.

Likewise, you think what you like as well. I trust Mattis and our military and Trump’s button that’s bigger and working.

Abe, where are you ? How does your maximal pressure work ?

Which is located inside the bomb. Exactly.

The delivery system is the missile. The bomb is loaded onto the missile. This means the delivery system is not located inside the bomb.

This:

Likewise, you think what you like as well. I trust Mattis and our military and Trump’s button that’s bigger and working.

does not refute this:

Likewise, you think what you like as well. I trust Mattis and our military and Trump’s button that’s bigger and working.

Additionally, Mattis and the US military would tell you that the DPRK has functional atomic bombs, which means their "button" clearly works. The size of the button doesn't matter. Do you really think the US button is larger in circumference?