Everyone has heard of North Korea and its nuclear arsenal at some point in time. Every journalist at CNN or FOX has some type of opinion about the regime. Some say that the only reason North Korea is holding their arsenal is to bluff. Some say that the regime isn't actually volatile and crazy, that it's all just an act to get stronger countries with better moral codes out of their business. Others say that Kim Jong Un and friends really are just as unpredictable and insane as they act. One way or another, Trump is pursuing a nuclear deal with the regime, and it might just work.
The articles I'm pulling from today are from BBC, The Atlantic, and The Guardian. Their headlines and links are as follows. I have just recently hit paywall on multiple news outlets so that's really fun.
What the North Koreans Told Me About Their Plans -The Atlantic
I will be juxtaposing the BBC article against The Guardian's, and using the other one as support.
The main points I could draw from the two main articles include:
North Korea is planning on getting rid of its nuclear program
This will happen between May 23 and May 25
The site they are destroying has been used for many nuclear tests
The regime is inviting people to watch in efforts of transparency.
The points from both outlets were blissfully similar. Most were short, sweet, to the point, and had little to no difference in how they were presented.
The first point is basically the main theme of today's article. It's stated plain and simple.
The second point is equally as blatant and factual.
The third is the last point that is so simple, unfortunately.
For some reason facts blatantly reported with little fluff by BBC and The Guardian, directly contradict each other.
The contradiction is as to weather or not South Korean journalist will be invited; and while it might not seem that important as to if South Korean correspondents will be invited, it does speak to significant diplomatic efforts, or the lack thereof.
It is also important to remember that efforts to denuclearize North Korea have been near, if not on, the front of the government's priority list for years. No one understands why North Korea is so keen on denuclearizing now, nor do they understand the regimes own version of denuclearizing. The Atlantic also asks similar questions, saying:
"What exactly do the North Koreans mean when they say they’re willing to denuclearize? And how exactly would they do so? These are the key mysteries at the heart of the upcoming Trump-Kim summit—and indeed they threatened to derail the whole thing this week when Kim Jong Un objected to National-Security Adviser John Bolton’s vision for it."
In this section, it also brings up John Bolton and his version of denuclearization, in which he proposes the "Libya model," that frankly, the Trump administration doesn't endorse.
Instead, we can look towards the 2013 talks in which the regime defined what, at the time, a denuclearization deal would look like for them to be game for participating in it.
Again, The Atlantic reports:
"for the North Koreans, the key to denuclearization was that the United States had to end its “hostile policy.” That demand sounds vague to many Americans, but in fact, the North Koreans have made it quite clear on a number of occasions what ending a “hostile policy” would entail: stopping political, security, and economic confrontation in return for eliminating their nuclear weapons."
and while that may seem like a lot, we also have to acknowledge that this plan is 5 years old, and NK's nuclear capabilities have changed significantly.
Overall, this is a big deal. In one final quote, The Atlantic says "The stakes are nothing less than the success or failure of the world’s best current chance to disarm North Korea." This could very easily make history books, but at the same time, could do it for all the wrong reasons. If you genuinely want to continue following the story I recommend you take a look at the BBC article and continue to follow the topic into the upcoming measures being taken over the next week. This story is INCREDIBLY important and is SO worth knowing your stuff on. If this goes wrong it could be a huge national security threat.
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