North Korea Summit

The first summit between trump and Kim was held in Singapore. I didn’t hold much hope for the results of that meeting. A lot of hoopla with little substance. A lot was discussed but the window dressing informed us this was a publicity event, little more.


Supporters of trump, of course, claimed otherwise, but the rest of us – including the global community – remained to be convinced by actual outcomes that the meeting was effective. We have not changed our mind. Very little was accomplished at the Singapore summit. Connections were made and a platform for future talks were constructed. That is all good. However, actual outcomes have not yet been registered.


The Hanoi summit that just collapsed between Kim and trump, was another window dressing event. Trump is not a stateman no matter how he struts on the world stage. His remarks are empty. His goals unknown. Without benchmarks how can we tell if progress has been made?


Besides, North Korea is not in control of its own future. China and Russia are the props to the Kim regime. This has been known for decades. China provides the economic props for Kim. Russia provides the military hardware and software to give Kim a ‘presence.’ If we are to make progress with North Korea, we must first get the attention and cooperation of Russia and China. That won’t happen soon. It is in Kim’s, Beijing’s and Moscow’s interests that the impasse with the US continue.

The three Asian nations want a denuclearized South Korea. America provides a military reality. We are not likely to cede the point. The stalemate continues. With it is a stability of relations for the rest of the region – Taiwan, Japan, the Philippines and all the rest. Meanwhile China continues to press forward with its militarization of the international waters and manmade islands.

Russia chortles privately at the cumbersome handling of these matters by trump. It is in Putin’s interest that these rude actions continue. Effective stasis for the region while he focuses attention on other matters.


Meanwhile at home, the president’s reputation and legal problems continue to fall into pieces. There is no need for impeachment. The trump dynasty is failing and will disappear of its own accord.

His private life does have its moments of solace and peace. Much better than the chaos of international attention on one’s personal failures.

March 4, 2019