What's going on with Trump and N. Korea?

Trump doesn’t have a diplomatic bone in his body, and I think it takes a REAL diplomatic approach when dealing with a fanatic such as Kim.
So no this isn’t the right time to aggravate this fanatic.

Trump is incompetent. He managed to go bankrupt in the Casino business. Just let that sink in…

…Bankrupt in the Casino business.

The key to the North Korea problem is China and Russia. I would be very surprised if the Chinese equivalent of the CIA doesn’t have assassins in place to take out Kim Jong Un if they get the green light.

…his nuts are honey roasted & as round as Betty Boop’s face.

No, his approach (and honestly the only “negotiating” tool he has in his bag) is bullying. And when bluster, threats and intimidation don’t work, and they obviously don’t work on NK, what is his next face saving option? Much like Kim, Trump has to save face at any and all costs. Well, not costs to himself but everyone and everything else is expendable as long as the Trump name is not tarnished.

When I heard all the backlash regarding Trump saying he was looking forward to meeting with the NK leader, or however he worded it, I really didn’t have a problem with him using respectful words for Jong-un, because if we want to try diplomacy, I think we need to begin with respect.

The tricky part is Trump seems a little too in love with communist leaning, dictator like, figures in the world today.

For now, I’m sticking with hoping this is his first move in a chess game to improve relations, and improve the conditions for the NK people. That’s my hope. My real feelings though, are that it’s rather fruitless and hopeless regarding NK, and the people will continue to live in isolation for a long time coming, which totally sucks. We probably should have gone back in years ago and finally finished the war against NK, but we didn’t.

I can’t see anything wrong with a new president giving it a try to make nice nice and improve things. When it doesn’t work, then we can always turn on a dime. If it works that would be great.

One does not legitimize the actions of someone like Kim Jong Un by inviting him over for a chat at the White House. And Trump has not used diplomacy; he has used threats and then said it is South Korea’s problem to solve.

To be direct in answering your question, he is not taking the right approach.

I think it is a good start.

I imagine that Trump has some friends who want some of the rare minerals that North Korea is rich in. Follow the money…

Kim Jon Un is pushing the US’s buttons because we are a world power and he wants to be a big shot, too. But it’s really a UN thing…

Trump is trying to pressure China into a more active role in N.Korea. I think that’s a good strategy. Nothing on the diplomatic front, has deterred N.Korea for decades. We’ve tried not talking directly with them with no results. I like the idea that Trump is shaking things up a bit.

@Jaxk I suppose it is worth a try and China is probably the only country with any influence. I just have no confidence that Trump has the wherewithal to know when to stop shaking.

@Jaxk Trump hasn’t even bothered to really lean much of anything about Kim Jong Un. To some extent I agree that a different approach may be necessary, but Trump is clearly NOT the person to handle such a delicate topic. He’s like hiring Bozo the Clown to run the calculations for the satellite launch.

SUPER GREAT ANSWER^^^^ there @gorillapaws !!

@rojo & @gorillapaws – I think you may be letting your dislike of the man to color your judgement. China does not want to see any military action in N.Korea. They also don’t want to see taxes on their imports to the US. I believe that Trump is using both of those to kick China into taking more aggressive action with N.Korea. Regardless of your opinion of Trump as a person, he does know how to negotiate.

@Jaxk It’s not about my dislike for the guy. It’s an objective assessment of his abilities. Everything I’ve heard about Trump indicates to me that he’s not very intelligent, and doesn’t like to put in much effort. He wants national security briefs limited to one page with lots of maps and graphics.

I realize the guy promotes himself as being good at negotiation, but that doesn’t mean he’s ACTUALLY good at negotiating. I’m reasonably confident in asserting that the emperor has no clothes. Good negotiators understand they need to “know their enemy” as (Sun Tzu puts it). That requires spending time away from the golf course and twitter, learning a bit about the nuances of history and culture in North Korea and the ruling family. From the clip I linked to earlier, it at least appears that Trump hasn’t bothered to do much research.

Maybe Trump is secretly a genius and he’s pretending to be an idiot. I’m not holding my breath though.

I do think we’re in agreement about China being important to handling Kim Jong Un. I don’t think we can bully China into action however. More likely it’ll be Un’s unstable behavior with nukes that could force China/Russia’s hand in keeping the little shit in check. Neither China nor Russia want a war on their front doorstep.

@Jaxk Not to digress too much from the original intent of the question but I disagree. His ONLY negotiating skill is Bluster, Bully and Threaten. I have dealt with his ilk many times in the building trade and through experience found out that you cannot seriously negotiate a deal with them. It has to be all or none. Anything less than all is a failure in their minds. And if you call their bluff they are powerless. They may rage and take it out on subordinates but even their lawyers will eventually tell them a suit is useless, he will lose. People like him have no backup when their threats do not work. Of course, I was dealing with people with a lot less money at their disposal. I suppose most of his “deals” have come from people realizing that, win or lose, he can outspend them in court. Dealing with nations is a different animal though.

China is probably a lot more likely to fear of the uncertainty of what Kim will do and the resultant response that Trump will make.than the hot air that is Trumps threats.