Trump Says He Will Not Talk to North Korea. Experts Fear He Will.

[DonViejo]

By MARK LANDLER AUG. 30, 2017

WASHINGTON — President Trump vowed on Wednesday that he would not talk to Kim Jong-un, cooling off what has become his on-again, off-again cultivation of North Korea’s rogue dictator.

But if Mr. Trump’s tweet, in which he said, “talking is not the answer!,” seemed to reignite tensions with North Korea, it also revealed a paradox in how Asia experts view the crisis. Some fear less that Mr. Trump is going to start a war with Mr. Kim than that he is going to stumble into a risky, unpredictable dialogue with him.

The world’s attention has understandably focused on Mr. Trump’s saber-rattling threats against Mr. Kim — most dramatically, his promise to rain “fire and fury” on North Korea if Mr. Kim fired ballistic missiles at United States territory.

But a meeting between Mr. Trump and Mr. Kim, these experts said, could open the door to ratifying North Korea’s nuclear status or scaling back America’s joint military exercises with South Korea. That could sunder American alliances with Japan and South Korea and play to the benefit of China, which has long advocated direct dialogue between Washington and Pyongyang.

“What the North Koreans are angling for is to bring the danger and tension to a crescendo, and then to pivot to a peace proposal,” said Daniel R. Russel, who served until March as the assistant secretary of state for East Asian affairs. “All of this is focused on pressuring the U.S. to enter direct talks with Kim on his terms. That is the big trap.”

more
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/08/30/us/politics/trump-north-korea-extortion-money.html

[Not Ruth]

1. If we do not talk to NK, does that take diplomacy off the table?

[global1]

2. But What About Our 'Art Of The Deal' Expert....

He wrote the book. He's the 'negotiator and chief'. Shouldn't he be able to solve this NK problem single handedly? (sarcasm)

[cloudbase]

3. Jaw jaw is better than war war.

-Winston Churchill

[longship]

5. Note: Churchill said nothing about Jar-Jar.

[FLPanhandle]

4. North Korea always makes does this when they want something

As soon as they started launching missiles, it was obvious they wanted something in return for stopping.

This is North Korea's Modus operandi. Make a big issue, go to the bargaining table, get some concessions/aid/money in return for promising to stop. Rinse and repeat.

They want something. It's best to ignore them but they have gotten used to being rewarded for acting badly.