Slashdot Mirror
North Korean Leader Says He Will Suspend Arms Tests, Shut Nuclear Test Site (cnn.com)
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un announced early Saturday morning that the regime no longer needs nuclear tests or intercontinental ballistic missile tests. Kim said Saturday that "under the proven condition of complete nuclear weapons, we no longer need any nuclear tests, mid-range and intercontinental ballistic rocket tests, and that the nuclear test site in northern area has also completed its mission," state-run KCNA reported Saturday. CNN reports: A North Korea source told CNN that Kim has finally decided to open up a new chapter for his nation.
Kim has committed himself to the path of denuclearization and will now focus solely on economic growth and improving the national economy, the source said. The North Korean leader has realized the best path forward is to normalize relations with other countries, the source added. He is finally being recognized by the international community, and this is a historic, timely opportunity, the source said. The decision to halt nuclear and missile testing comes just one week before the leaders of South and North Korea are due to meet at the demilitarized zone between the two countries. U.S. President Donald Trump welcomed the news, tweeting: "North Korea has agreed to suspend all Nuclear Tests and close up a major test site. This is very good news for North Korea and the World - big progress! Look forward to our Summit."
It's a vicious cycle. (1) Blow off a nuke or two, make threats, bluster (2) Get the South and US to negotiate (3) Get food/technical assistance (4) When assistance runs out, go back to (1) We're talking about North Korea -- they have more years' experience with blackmail than the age of the average US official.
When you don't give a shit about workers' lives, money spent on safety is just inefficiency.
Besides, if a tunnel collapses and kills a bunch of people, that's less people you have to figure out how to feed when your entire country is under famine and you are a 3rd generation petulant asshole who thinks that constant threats to neighbors, ballistic missiles, and crude nuclear arms are more important than food for the citizenry. But don't worry - it's one set of rules for the peasants, and another for you and your cronies. He's still nice and pudgy.
Ahh, Communism. How great thou art.
Slashdot still doesnâ(TM)t support Unicode after it was added to the HTML standard in 1997.
When news first hit, the media was broadsided and reports/anchors, even from CNN, were positive and even commending Trump.
The next morning (after their 4 AM talking points) the reports were more along the lines of "Oh, we've heard this from North Korea before. It won't really happen.".
As it continued to look more and more like it could happen, there were a few reports of chicken little bullshit about Trump playing into NK's hands, Trump falling for a NK plot that will just trigger WWIII, etc. But they didn't stick.
The general consensus among the mainstream media now, leading up to the official meeting, seems to be "Huh. Okay, this might happen. Maybe Trump being an asshole and Kim Jong Un being an asshole worked out in a Bizarro sort of way.".
I'd say his recent, first-ever trip to Beijing had a lot to do with it. Papa Xi undoubtedly set his fine young self straight on a few matters, likely starting with, "If you fire the first missile, the Americans will turn you into a parking lot, and as long as the bombs all fall on your side of the Yalu, we'll sit right here and watch them do it."
Il n'y a pas de Planet B.
Actually, I'll thank Xi, since he alone is the one who controls North Korea's entire existance. Funny how all of this happens AFTER Kim visits China.
Funny how the planning of the Trump-Kim meeting was announced within 24 hours of Trump announcing tariffs on aluminium and steel.
Of course, NK seeking peace is all of Xi's doing on his own. That's why Kim visited China nearly twenty days after negotiating with the White House.
Also interesting after China consolidates into a dictatorship.
No, no, no. Trump is literally Hitler, remember. How does Xi not having term limits affect NK? China in real terms is the same China of January. The only difference is Trump. Trump solves problems instead of going on apology tours.
Try the red pills. They are better than soy lattes.