NK says they will stop testing Nukes.

[Orbitus]

I suspect it has less to do with Trump and more to do with this:
http://www.newsweek.com/north-korea-...-report-696878

I don't know about that, haven't they tested since then? Or was it just missiles since then?

[DarkTZeratul]

I don't know about that, haven't they tested since then? Or was it just missiles since then?

According to Wikipedia their last nuclear test was in September 2017. Since the collapse they've also only made one missile test, in November.

[Varvara Spiros Gelashvili]

https://www.cnn.com/2018/04/20/asia/...ite/index.html

Turns out Trump did nothing they basically got what they wanted despite our best efforts and are now eating there cake to...

[Cthulhu 2020]

NK stops testing nukes for a few months every time they run out of money.

They convince a bunch of nations that they'll stop escalating and testing if they get money. They get that money, then lay low for awhile, then slowly start ramping up more weapons testing again a few months later.

Trump taking credit for this has truly been hilarious, thanks for the laugh Trumpkins!

[Deleted]

He has no reason to test them because they now neutralized the Americans. They got Nuclear Weapons and Missiles that can threaten American interests in the region. They are safe.

Now their goal is to get the American President to the negotiate table. So they can produce propaganda about how the Americans are begging for mercy. Just like the food aid in the 90s from the US was sold as Tribute to the locals.

[CostinR]

In all frankness we have no bloody clue what North Korea actually wants to achieve and ANYONE that's saying they do know is spewing nonsense.

Maybe they do just want a propaganda win after their nuclear testing facility collapsed and are trying to find a way to save face.

Maybe they are genuine.

Maybe they are trying to play Trump and Moon for fools.

Maybe they have figured out that being a proxy tool for China in it's geopolitical conflict is not a wise idea.

Maybe, maybe, maybe. All these possibilities, nothing quite concrete. The only fact we have here is that it all depends on Kim. The sanctions on North Korea are not going away anytime soon. Because they are UN Security Council sanctions that would require a vote to remove.

[Breccia]

While this is an opinion piece, as the author has been part of the State Department, the NSC, and the Senate Foreign Relations Council, I think we can agree it is an informed opinion.

There is nothing inherently wrong with negotiating with North Korea, but the Trump administration seems to have found the negotiation path that maximizes the potential benefits to the North Koreans while minimizing the benefits to the US and its allies.

The United States was already at a disadvantage in its dealings with North Korea because the Trump administration has no coherent strategy for dealing with North Korea, while North Korea's leaders have an extremely smart strategy for America. Beginning from the first day of the planned Kim-Trump talks, the US will have already given North Korea the legitimation Pyongyang has sought for decades, a reduction in tensions and a nod toward ending the state of war on the Korean peninsula -- in exchange for very little.

From North Korea's perspective, the legitimacy that comes from a leadership meeting with a US president and ongoing negotiations as an equal are big wins. Now that it has established a credible nuclear deterrent, North Korea has every incentive to reduce tensions in the region as long as the Kim regime retains its absolute control inside the country and uses the leverage nuclear weapons provide internationally. That's why the series of confidence-building measures North Korea has already announced and likely will negotiate -- including a hotline phone connecting North and South Korea's top leaders, a nuclear testing and long-range missile launch freeze, and perhaps even some preliminary inspections by the International Atomic Energy Agency -- make sound strategic sense for North Korea.

But because North Korea's leaders see nuclear weapons as the primary survival strategy of their regime, they will not ultimately give up those weapons unless the costs of keeping them are greater than the costs of giving them up. The only way they will reach this conclusion is if they believe either that the US is going to use military force to overthrow their government or that China is going to completely cut the country off from trade and aid if they don't give up their nukes. Neither of these scenarios is possible.

The US will not attack because the only way to ensure escalation dominance over North Korea is by being prepared to launch an all-out war and accept hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of casualties. There is no viable "bloody nose" military strategy for the United States and everybody knows it. This gives the North Koreans an advantage.

China will not pressure North Korea to the point of regime collapse because Beijing has already decided it would rather have a nuclear armed and semi-hostile North Korea on its border than a reunified Korea, allied with the United States. China is very willing to pressure North Korea, just not to the point where Kim would have to choose between giving up nuclear weapons and remaining in power. Sanctions are definitely hurting North Korea, but Pyongyang is smartly betting that China will make sure the sanctions never hurt so much as to destabilize the North Korean regime.

Given these strategic realities, the Kim-Trump talks will be a great photo opportunity and certainly lead to some feel-good, confidence-building measures. Trump will continue to tweet about the progress being made, and he won't be entirely wrong. If the goal of the talks is to decrease tensions on the Korean peninsula, they will succeed but with a significant catch.

When it becomes clear that North Korea has no intention of giving up its nuclear weapons, the US will have a choice of accepting North Korea as a nuclear-armed state and working to contain it like it did with the Soviet Union; going to war to overthrow the North Korean regime and eliminate the nuclear threat; or putting more pressure on North Korea to start a new round of negotiations that will at best end in the same stalemate it faces today. Ultimately, the US, holding its nose and under pressure from South Korea and China, will most likely choose the first option. The cost of forcing North Korea to give up all of its nuclear weapons will simply be too high.

[Rasulis]

The test site is probably reaching the limit of its usefulness. You can only test so many nuclear bombs before the mountain collapses. The test site location is close enough to China, if the mountain collapses, and the radiation leaks reach China, they won’t be a happy camper.

[Pterodactylus]

A meeting with the US president is exactly what NK is after, and have been after for a long time, to go for the "legitimacy" they have always wanted and Trump in his desperation for a "win" will deliver it to them.

[DarkTZeratul]

A meeting with the US president is exactly what NK is after, and have been after for a long time, to go for the "legitimacy" they have always wanted and Trump in his desperation for a "win" will deliver it to them.

The idea that our actions grant foreign governments legitimacy is one that Trump seems incapable of grasping. Just look at his hamfisted fumbling of Taiwan and the One China policy.

[Blobfish]

Kim Jong Un is now getting praise from President Trump.

What did I tell y'all.. Kim will be in the USA next year watching some NBA Basketball on a tour... Just Watch.

https://www.businessinsider.com.au/t...le-open-2018-4

President Donald Trump on Tuesday again praised North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, describing Kim as “very honorable” and “very open.”

Trump has in the past mixed praise of Kim with threats, but he has leaned toward praise in recent days.

Trump is set to become the first sitting US president to meet face-to-face with a North Korean leader.

Kim has appeared to make a set of stunning concessions and cave to US demands already, but experts are sceptical.

[Felya]

Kim Jong Un is now getting praise from President Trump.

What did I tell y'all.. Kim will be in the USA next year watching some NBA Basketball on a tour... Just Watch.

https://www.businessinsider.com.au/t...le-open-2018-4

President Donald Trump on Tuesday again praised North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, describing Kim as “very honorable” and “very open.”

Trump has in the past mixed praise of Kim with threats, but he has leaned toward praise in recent days.

Trump is set to become the first sitting US president to meet face-to-face with a North Korean leader.

Kim has appeared to make a set of stunning concessions and cave to US demands already, but experts are sceptical.

Hey, the dude is on a roll. He was also the first sitting president, to meet Putin face-to-cock.