Wednesday, May 02, 2018
Credibility
Kim Jong Un, North Korea's dictator, has promised to shut its nuclear testing site in May. Do you believe him? This is a man who has acted bellicosely for years and is the son of a leader who broke his promises more than he kept them. It is hard to think of another world leader with lower credibility. Yet, South Korea is choosing to believe him for the moment. Each side has been making overtures -- the North with the Olympics and the South with K-Pop. It is easy to spin scenarios for Kim's long-term goals. The man is a cipher. He has acted brutally in getting rid of rivals. He continues to repress his citizens. He continues to enjoy the products of the free world while denying them to his own poverty-stricken country. If he has had a change of heart, it is impossible to know what caused it. He might be trying to lift sanctions. He might be pursuing a long-term goal to reunite the North and the South under his rule. It will be up to the South and Trump to determine whether they can trust him. That will be difficult.
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