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Originally Posted by Beestie
Wow, tw, I had no idea that North Korea was so misunderstood.
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Posted was commonly known. So commonly known that Carter got the Nobel Peace Prize for his part in the negotiations.
Did you hear what reporters are being told, off the record, by N Korean diplomats as they announced the shutdown and removal of those plutonium laced rods? They keep asking, "What will it take for the US government to negotiate with us in earnest?" The world understands these facts quite well. Unfortunately neighbors such as Japan figure the new US hardline position will not change. "If he is not a friend, then he can only be an enemy" concept. Japanese have been quietly gearing the world's second largest military (measured in dollars) for protection from a war in N Korea they fear to be inevitable.
Many don't know that Japan has a military that large. Many are so ill informed as to think Japan has a tiny if not no military. They would also have no idea of Kim Jung Il's ill-fated attempt to reform his nation.
Kim Jung Il is working within narrow constraints. The power brokers in his country cannot be ignored. But they also have little idea (as Kim does) of how the world really works. Kim Jung Il is in the same position as Assad of Syria. Both have narrow constraints that keep them in power. Both came to power with the intent of reforming their countries. Both are learning what they can and cannot do - and why their fathers were so ruthless.