I did some googling...found this from CNN, April 26 just past:
"(North Korea) believes the only way to deter the US from attacking them, and maintaining the power of the Kim regime, is by the possession of nuclear weapons,"said Joe Bermudez, an analyst with 38 North, a North Korean monitoring group.
Bennett, the Rand analyst, said North Korea's leaders look at states like Libya and worry they'll go the way of Moammar Gadhafi if they accept US carrots in exchange for abandoning nuclear ambitions."
This opinion makes sense to me, especially in light of the latest selection of our local book club, NOTHING TO ENVY; Ordinary Lives in North Korea, by Barbara Demick. The book is assembled from a reporter's interviews with people who had escaped from North to South Korea...so drastic, I would have considered it propaganda were it not for the credentials of the reporter.
I think that analysis overlooks one important point: Libya had no great power protector, whereas N Korea has China. The Chinese would certainly not want to lose their client buffer state, so they would be there to guarantee N Korea's continued existence against external threats, as they did during the Korean war.
On the other hand, maybe Kim wants to keep his nuclear weapons as insurance against the Chinese removing him in favor of someone more reasonable.
Hi O'Tink...for me, there is def a psychology with this dynamic that I do not comprehend...is foreign relations an area where you feel well informed? Have you studied Trump enough to have an opinion as to his abilities?
In recent news releases online, I did see that Trump is asking China to put pressure on North Korea to cease and desist with the nuclear development...
I highly doubt it. Lots of sabre rattling going on but actual war....meh, don't think so. I think the countries closest to the problem will "squash" that problem first as they reside closer to all the missiles that fail. That being said....pay someone a bunch of money to lob his head off, IF he/she could get close enough!
I don't think so - and I hope not. The formerly close relationship between China and North Korea is falling apart, and also Russia has taken its distances from a former "protégé". But it looks much like a dangerous game.
Hi Dan,
I did some googling...found this from CNN, April 26 just past:
I think that analysis overlooks one important point: Libya had no great power protector, whereas N Korea has China. The Chinese would certainly not want to lose their client buffer state, so they would be there to guarantee N Korea's continued existence against external threats, as they did during the Korean war.
On the other hand, maybe Kim wants to keep his nuclear weapons as insurance against the Chinese removing him in favor of someone more reasonable.
Hi O'Tink...for me, there is def a psychology with this dynamic that I do not comprehend...is foreign relations an area where you feel well informed? Have you studied Trump enough to have an opinion as to his abilities?
In recent news releases online, I did see that Trump is asking China to put pressure on North Korea to cease and desist with the nuclear development...
Hi Virginia,
No, I really don't know how skillful Trump will be in foreign affairs, but it's too soon to say; the pudding he's preparing hasn't set yet.
Yes, we will see.
Most probably not. China would have too much to lose, and N Korea is China's client.
I highly doubt it. Lots of sabre rattling going on but actual war....meh, don't think so. I think the countries closest to the problem will "squash" that problem first as they reside closer to all the missiles that fail. That being said....pay someone a bunch of money to lob his head off, IF he/she could get close enough!
I don't think so - and I hope not. The formerly close relationship between China and North Korea is falling apart, and also Russia has taken its distances from a former "protégé". But it looks much like a dangerous game.
General information
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/China%E2%80%93North_Korea_relations
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_Korea%E2%80%93Russia_relations
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_Korea%E2%80%93United_States_relations
News:
http://www.spiegel.de/international/world/deadly-game-donald-trump-and-kim-jong-un-risk-nuclear-war-a-1144745.html
https://www.afp.com/en/news/23/chinas-military-pact-n-korea-looks-shaky
http://www.express.co.uk/news/world/799038/North-Korea-v-USA-LIVE-news-updates-Kim-Jong-un-World-War-3-Donald-Trump-latest
https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/3458993/kim-jong-un-nuclear-war-trump-sends-bombers-korean-peninsula/
http://edition.cnn.com/2017/05/02/asia/thaad-south-north-korea/