Considering his track record, how many have faith in trump's statement?
"We'll handle North Korea. ... It will be handled. We handle everything," Trump told reporters ahead of a Cabinet meeting, flanked by Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and Defense Secretary James Mattis".
By Sommer Brokaw | April 21, 2018 at 11:46 AM UPI
Critics said that North Korea had already announced that it had reached its goal of nuclear armament back in November, which is the reason that no more nuclear tests are needed.
"This comes after it has been reported that the some parts of the nuclear site were damaged in the previous nuclear test. Also at a time when the North has already declared competition of its nuclear armament, there is no need for Pyongyang to carry out additional nuclear tests," Professor Koh Yu-hwan of Dongguk University in Seoul told the Yonhap News Agency.
"The point here is that the North has completed its nuclear objective, signifying that now is time for economic development," he added.
and...
Without equivocating, it’s fair to say that both the declarations on nuclear testing and on halting the tests of ICBMs are significant concessions. Specifically, Kim announced that North Korea will “discontinue nuclear testing” and that the Punggye-ri site will be “dismantled to transparently guarantee the discontinuance of the nuclear test [sic].” On ICBMs, Kim simply said that no “inter-continental ballistic rocket test-fire” would take place after April 21, 2018.
While significant, we shouldn’t be fooled into thinking that these concessions are being made out of a position of weakness or as a necessary show of bona fide goodwill to South Korea and the United States before the upcoming summits. Kim’s rationale for doing away with the nuclear test site was to underline that North Korea had already successfully come up with the nuclear weapons designs it needed.
ANKIT PANDA
04.20.18 10:59 PM ET
"We'll handle North Korea. ... It will be handled. We handle everything," Trump told reporters ahead of a Cabinet meeting, flanked by Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and Defense Secretary James Mattis".
By Sommer Brokaw | April 21, 2018 at 11:46 AM UPI
Critics said that North Korea had already announced that it had reached its goal of nuclear armament back in November, which is the reason that no more nuclear tests are needed.
"This comes after it has been reported that the some parts of the nuclear site were damaged in the previous nuclear test. Also at a time when the North has already declared competition of its nuclear armament, there is no need for Pyongyang to carry out additional nuclear tests," Professor Koh Yu-hwan of Dongguk University in Seoul told the Yonhap News Agency.
"The point here is that the North has completed its nuclear objective, signifying that now is time for economic development," he added.
and...
Without equivocating, it’s fair to say that both the declarations on nuclear testing and on halting the tests of ICBMs are significant concessions. Specifically, Kim announced that North Korea will “discontinue nuclear testing” and that the Punggye-ri site will be “dismantled to transparently guarantee the discontinuance of the nuclear test [sic].” On ICBMs, Kim simply said that no “inter-continental ballistic rocket test-fire” would take place after April 21, 2018.
While significant, we shouldn’t be fooled into thinking that these concessions are being made out of a position of weakness or as a necessary show of bona fide goodwill to South Korea and the United States before the upcoming summits. Kim’s rationale for doing away with the nuclear test site was to underline that North Korea had already successfully come up with the nuclear weapons designs it needed.
ANKIT PANDA
04.20.18 10:59 PM ET
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