North Korean Leader Says He Will Suspend Arms Tests, Shut Nuclear Test Site (cnn.com) 249
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."
Crazy (Score:3)
Even the media can't spin this. I may actually see a unified Korea in my lifetime.
Or it could all fall apart. But as far as I can tell, this may actually be within grasp.
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Yeah, right until he's not happy with the size of the little flags on toothpicks on the table in the meeting room, when he decides to walk the delegation out, set one off in a cave again, and fire another rocket into the Sea of Japan.
This guy is completely unstable, and the only reason he's even entertaining the idea of negotiations is because even the iron grip his family has had on that country is slipping. As it turns out, nuclear weapons and long range ballistic missiles are amazingly expensive to deve
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I worry that this is all a deliberate ploy.
The entire North Korean strategy for ages has been based on the understanding that they could never defeat one of the great powers in a head to head war, but that they could make any attack on them very damaging to those around them.
It started with massive amounts of artillery, then missiles, now nukes.
Ever since the talk of Trump & Kim meeting, my fear has been Kim would bring him close and say "For you see, my grandfathers strategy has worked. Here the leader
Re:Crazy (Score:5, Insightful)
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."
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I have no dog in this fight between American or Chinese politicians. From my neutral perspective, what I felt was that this was Kim's plan all along.
NK had a very high percentage of their GDP being spent in military, and it is a difficult thing to sustain.
The people were also suffering, and as a new dictator (not accustomed to the suffering of the people as one who has ruled for decades), it wasnt a nice thing to have.
The solution to avoid (a) Iraq/Libya like situation - where the ruler is deposed and kille
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So they already know how to make nukes and cruise missiles are more effective than ballistic missiles. Sure they shot down the majority with 3rd anti-air systems in Syria but you just set the Nuke to detonate should it get a sufficient shock, once it is far enough from the launch site.
Submarines are bound to go through a redesign. Stuff carried over from last century, like reloading torpedo tubes makes no sense. Far smarter to be a more compact submarine with more torpedo/cruise missile tubes between the i
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Speed of a Tomahawk cruise missile carrying a W80 warhead: 550 mph (subsonic)
Speed of a Minuteman III reentry vehicle carrying a W78 in terminal phase: 17,000 mph
Range of a Tomahawk cruise missile: 810 miles for the block-III
Range of a Minuteman III ICBM: 8100 miles
Number of warheads on a Tomahawk cruise missile: 1
Number of warheads on a Minuteman III ICBM: up to 3 (could have decoy package in place of a warhead)
And this is comparing an ICBM from the early 70s. The numbers are even more compelling for a Tr
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Doesn't seem so. He was already moving in that direction before the supposed meeting with Xi happened. Remember? He met apparently with Xi after this talk by the N.Koreans happened. Now what was very interesting was China hosting Trump in the forbidden city. That doesn't happen, he was the first foreign leader to ever visit it. On top of that there was an armored train from N.Korea to China a day or so before Trump went there. It's more likely that there was some serious stuff between all parties inv
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Came here to say same. There’s no way he just decided to be nice.
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until he's not happy with the size of the little flags on toothpicks on the table
I just has a thought... I can totally see Kim with a huge lifted pickup; the kind with the ridiculously huge tailpipe that [one would assume] is in inverse proportion to portions of said owner's anatomy...
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Agreed. Poland, Norway, Finland (don't forget Karelia), and the Baltics must all be returned to Sweden forthwith!
I don't think we care so much about Denmark, though.
No right of return (Score:5, Interesting)
'Palestinians', or more accurately, local Arabs, do live in that land. What you are likely describing is them occupying Israel and doing their damndest to reduce Jews to a minority, so that they can get rid of the one Jewish country that is actually the original home of the Jews
It's been 70 years, and everywhere else in the world, when people have been displaced, they settle down in newer countries and assimilate there, rather than carry that grudge across generations. Like Crimean Tatars in Uzbekistan, or Sindhi Hindus in India. Aside from the people in the West Bank or Gaza, there are Palis who left that area to settle in other countries, such as Tunisia, Libya, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, et al. There is no reason why they can't just settle down in those countries, and assimilate into their populations
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NOBODY....wanted that tiny piece of land, of the giant entirety of that area.
A typical Likud lie.
All the thousands of Arab farmers that lived in that area prior to 1945
very much wanted to keep their land, and still deserve proper compensation.
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His hosts file screeds are more original, though.
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The Palestinian's what? I think you a word.
Re:Crazy (Score:4, Informative)
Before the creation of Israel, the term 'Palestinian' was used to refer to local Jews, while the Arabs were simply called Arabs. The term 'Palestinian' didn't exist before 1967, when Arafat decided to rebrand his people that to change world opinion. Until then, everybody saw it as a few million Jews in Israel vs all the Arabs in countries from Morocco to Iraq, and Syria to Sudan. By rebranding them as 'Palestinian', he changed the perception of Israel from a David to a Goliath.
Also historically, under various Muslim rulers, there was never any entity named 'Palestine': throughout history, it was a part of either Egypt or Syria, depending on who was the ruler. If they want to revert to history, maybe a good idea would be to hand over control of them to either President Sisi or President Assad.
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Before the creation of Israel, the term 'Palestinian' was used to refer to local Jews, while the Arabs were simply called Arabs. The term 'Palestinian' didn't exist before 1967, when Arafat decided to rebrand his people that to change world opinion.
You don't help your case when your first two sentences, as written, flatly contradict one another.
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So far it is all just talk, no action. So don't get your hopes up. But Trump deserves credit for agreeing to meet, and getting the dialog going. Donald and Jong Un may hit it off, since they have very similar personalities. If the meeting in Pyongyang goes well, maybe Mr Kim can come to the White House for a BBQ later this year.
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Word on the street is they've already met and hammered out a deal, and a peace treaty (not just a cease fire) is about to be signed.
He's even been trotting his wife out in public, and they've been acting like typical dignitaries.
Whether or not it's genuine remains to be seen, but we've never seen such behavior out that regime. If a peace treaty is signed, then there's still a long road to unification, but it would be the eventual goal.
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So far it is all just talk, no action. So don't get your hopes up. But Trump deserves credit for agreeing to meet, and getting the dialog going. Donald and Jong Un may hit it off, since they have very similar personalities. If the meeting in Pyongyang goes well, maybe Mr Kim can come to the White House for a BBQ later this year.
So Trump likes testing rockets and ballistic missiles every few weeks? Funny, I thought he was against almost all foreign military intervention, and has only reluctantly agreed to things like extending the presence in places like Afghanistan. Doesn't want anybody else's territory either, unlike Rocketman, who'd happily send his tanks into Seoul and Busan if he could
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Hi there, APK. It's obvious from your own transparent/laughable failures to impersonate that you don't even understand what the word means.
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Agreed. I see it from an ac troll apk quoted...
That's odd, I see only APK talking to himself.
Cue Up Nobel Prize For Trump (Score:2, Interesting)
And watch the media spin like GE's finest turbines.
Re:Cue Up Nobel Prize For Trump (Score:5, Funny)
And watch the media spin like GE's finest turbines.
They should invite Obama and ask him to bring his peace prize. Rip it out of his hands, give it to Trump and apologize for being partisan hacks.
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Sure. I mean if they give it to one guy for doing nothing then they should also give it to another guy who did nothing. Hell where's my peace prize. I didn't cause a war today, why don't I get one!
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What do you mean did nothing? Obama started more wars then Bush, and committed extra-judicial killings as state policy. We're on a role here.
On the condition US denuclearizes (Score:2)
There's just one conditions so NK gives up nukes :
That the other nations denuclearize also, including of course the US.
Will the US give up nuclear weapons ? not sure.
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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.
See you in a week or so.
Re: Crazy (Score:4, Funny)
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Oh, suddenly CNN is trustworthy now.
The trouble with journalism today is that journalists either take one side or the other.
There is no reporting to get a "both-sides" viewpoint. To really have CNN or FOX or MSNBC do interviews of the important representatives from both sides.
Where is CNN interviewing Trump enthusiasts and Fox interviewing non-Trump enthusiasts?
American Journalism is just mud-slinging
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Re: Crazy (Score:5, Insightful)
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.".
Re: Crazy (Score:4, Interesting)
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.".
And they're right, in a way. These deals take years to complete. Once Trump is no longer president NK will back out of any "deal" they agreed to. Their only reason for wanting peace is due to Trump's willingness to pull the trigger. If a new president, one with a more Obama-ish attitude, comes in then NK will revert to previous behaviour.
You read it here first.
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Re: Crazy (Score:3)
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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."
Maybe it's just a case of post hoc ergo propter hoc, but I have a different take: I think it was the Olympics. Certainly, timing-wise, the Kim Jong Un's softening coincided with the Olympic games, and I think it makes sense as well. He saw the benefits of being a participant in the international scene, both economic and in terms of status. He's also made some moves to consolidate power internally and may feel like he's got a strong enough hold that he can steer the country in a different direction without l
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So, they failed in a non-nuclear test of a missile and get accused of it being a hidden nuclear program. And you wonder why they think they should not be beholden to an agreement if the other side is blatantly abusing their trust?
And before you start sputtering: let's just take them at their word. We know that the
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Great news! (Score:5, Informative)
After seeing the picture of Kim Jong-Un blushing while posing with Red Velvet I figured, OK, this might be for real, he might really be ready to focus on trade.
Plus, China told him he had to do it; he went to China and they went on the news together, and North Korea had agreed to give up their nuclear program, and China had agreed to remain their ally. Sounds like a good deal to me, right?! Good deal for everybody, actually.
So how do you soften the hearts of the Generals? With kpop. Duh.
Works for me! I'm more of an AoA fan, but I can totally see Red Velvet being better for this mission.
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Re:Great news! (Score:4, Informative)
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This was always Kim's plan. This is what he wants. No pressure required.
He built up the nuclear and missile programmes to give himself a powerful bargaining chip. He traded insults with Trump to show that he could win the game of brinkmanship, and to build up political capital for when we wanted to talk peace.
Kim, while ruthless, brutal and guilty of crimes against humanity, has played a blinder here. What remains to be seen is if he wants to reform and open up North Korea, or something else.
Re: Great news! (Score:2)
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I always said I wanted to hear Hyejeong and Yuna sing more. They seem more focused on acting, though.
That's not all... (Score:1)
He's also declared that he will stop "first posting"!
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Missed by two full minutes Kim.
Convenient? (Score:3)
Wasn't there broad speculation from intelligence recently that their test facility had caved in, killing many?
Re:Convenient? (Score:5, Interesting)
Not the test facility, just one of the main tunnels under the mountain.
Reports since then reported work at other nearby sites, presumably working on new tunnels.
The Chinese have warned them in the past that they were over-using the tunnels and risking a collapse, they just didn't want to do the work of prepping a new tunnel until it actually happened. Workers died, but try to understand; workers at this site are constantly dying, and they bring new ones in. They don't have radiation safety programs. Their system is simpler; important enough people don't have to do that job.
Re:Convenient? (Score:4, Insightful)
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.
Re: Convenient? (Score:2)
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They've had many cave ins, no doubt. But I'm sure they also have more mountains. Some say the one they're using is pretty much swiss cheese at this point, but always skeptical of convenient 'look how our enemy blew off his pecker' narratives..
What is the range on their estimated nuclear arsenal at this point? IIRC it's in the hundreds of warheads. But all such estimates should be met with suspicion. Who's pulling this number from what orifice exactly?
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Why on earth would China do that? Let's have a reason not based in something you just made up.
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You're projecting. This is not a round of The East Is Red, and the last thing Beijing is interested in is a war with one of its large neighbours.
Gonna be so much butthurt. (Score:5, Funny)
When the history books record peace in korea because of trump.
You mean Xi (Score:2, Troll)
Re:You mean Xi (Score:4, Informative)
Actually, especially given that it came out of the AEI (to be fair, she's a fairly reputable professor at Georgetown), it was pretty light on that, I thought.
It seemed to me to be more about Xi clarifying a few things for Kim. Rephrased in the vernacular, I'm guessing it sounded a lot like, "If you want us to back you up, you're gonna lighten the fuck up, get off your high horse, show us some respect, and play by the rules, which we are listing here for your convenience...". The author posits [emphasis added],
Kim realized that US military options are more likely now than in the past, and that the Chinese were preparing for contingencies that did not involve supporting the North Korean regime.
If the US were to attack North Korea, China would intervene — not in support of North Korea, but rather in support of its own interests and would possibly even collaborate with the Americans.
Makes sense, and the collaboration bit might not be as far-fetched as it sounds. Left unsaid here--but possibly not in Beijing the other week--is that the Chinese do not actually have to wait for the Americans--they can act pre-emptively if they so choose. But that's potentially very disorderly, and China is nearly certain to prefer options that offer continued stability in the region over those that don't.
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More like relief. (Score:2)
This is really good news (Score:1)
...is what I'd like to say, but my spidey-sense is tingling on overdrive.
More likely (Score:2)
This is what happens when Syria and Iran buy all the "surplus" uranium and plutonium and you've run out because of all the tests you've done.
Now time to milk your "generosity" and "peaceful intentions" so you can feed your country.
You can all thank Trump (Score:5, Interesting)
Trump was the only world leader who could speak Kim's language, and that was what finally convinced them to drop a path they had been on through MANY other U.S. presidents.
This alone makes Trump the greatest president in modern times, greatly eclipsing anything Obama ever did (or even imagined he did).
Now after we clean up Obama's gift of nuclear weapons to Iran, the world may actually be safer for once...
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North Korea was never a threat to us. Iran could actually be useful to us, keeping the Saudis in check.
Doing South Korea's or Saudi Arabia's dirty work doesn't make a president great. What's needed now is better DOMESTIC policy. Stop spending so much on military adventures. Spend on education, infrastructure (no, not public-private partnerships), healthcare. Amnesty all non-violent drug offenders. Legalize marijuana (happy 4/20!), decriminalize the use (sale should be case-by-case, I don't support leg
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Exactly. This was all a mind thing, there was no real need for NK to develop functional nuclear weapons because no one wanted anything they have and they didn't want anything from anyone else either other than to be left alone. There was no material basis for a conflict, it's only a matter of view, and Trump is quite good at changing people's minds. Well some people's anyway.
Re: You can all thank Trump (Score:2)
Definitions (Score:3)
he's forgotten how Nixon went to China
You've forgotten the definition of modern it would seem.
Carter got a peace accord in the Middle-East
Wow, just WOW. You are really going to hold up the Middle East as an example of SUCESS?? Just because he got a piece of paper signed while many continued to die there. You must REALLY love paper.
Reagan blew up the debt
But ended the Soviet Union for quite a while in the process, which incidentally Obama helped prosper in recent times.
Bush I conquered Iraq
Now you are tal
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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 [foxnews.com] was announced within 24 hours of Trump announcing tariffs on aluminium and steel [whitehouse.gov].
Of course, NK seeking peace is all of Xi's doing on his own. That's why Kim visited China [bloomberg.com] 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
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Fooled by what?? (Score:2)
Don't be fooled. This is a step toward a unified Korea and possibly a Korea much more friendly with China down the road.
Yes, and???
Still WAY WAY better than NK, which had literally insane leadership with a few nukes to play with.
You may not like China much but they are rational players. Also they would prefer to simply take over the U.S. rather than blow bits of it up or kill as many people as possible.
I foresee a not unrealistic takeover of the U.S. by China in the next hundred years, though probably more
Bullshit (Score:3)
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Fool me once, shame on — shame on you. Fool me — you can't get fooled again.
Round and round we go... (Score:5, Insightful)
Round and round we go with western propaganda (Score:2)
1) The United States killed three million Koreans and flattened every city in the north in an illegal war
2) The United States has overthrown dozens of democracies since the Korean War, replacing many of them with dictatorships, and sometimes for giggles gone back decades later to overthrow those dictatorships (see Iraq)
3) North Korea's threats are retaliatory - as in 'we'll can strike you if you attack us'. You could also end sanctions that make NK dependent on outside help, too.
4) The United States has pr [wikipedia.org]
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Sure, in theory. In reality, North Korea would be legally and morally entitled to a few trillion in reparations for being bombed into rubble and decades of sanctions/practice invasions/terrorist threats.
So wanting a handful of pennies in comparison and assurances that the United States wont unilaterally attack them - not childish.
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Do you even know the history of the Korean war?
Do you?
(Mine was a rhetorical question, obviously.)
Where's Sony when you need them?! (Score:2)
We should just start making movies for Kim to show at home, with nukes, and Armageddon, Trump begging for mercy, the whole speil.
Sony could produce a while series of Kim takes over the world movies so he can keep brainwashing his people into believing he is the most powerful and fearless leader in history.
He can blow smoke out his ass all over NK, and tell them everyone started sending food so he doesn't get a hankering to kick the collective ass of the world again!
It wouldn't be the worst lie in the histor
And on my 61st birthday (Score:2)
Cuz it's what they've been doing for the past 30 years, I wish to god there was an ETF that let me bet on the Norks lying in a treaty.
Late April fool's joke? (Score:2)
No more tests. -- Let's just build! (Score:3)
Getting played (Score:2)
I think Kim Dot Bomb is trying to look like the good guy prior to the meeting with Trump.
He'll then press the old man's buttons in the meeting until the old man blows and and shouts across the table "your fired!".
Then walk away saying to the world media "Well I was happy to negotiate but Trump was his usual self and blew it. I'll keep my bombs since this guy is the dangerous one"
Impressive (Score:2, Funny)
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Yeah you also probably believe that Venezuela was a socialist paradise until it failed. And you'll probably screech that "people were just too stupid, and communism *still* hasn't been done properly.
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Looks like you got pretty triggered. Those "social democracies" aren't doing very hot these days, then again most people also enjoy things like "freedom of speech" instead of "the right not to be offended." Boy oh boy, you sure love the government when it turns around and controls your life, and all that. But it takes some pretty tiny balls to call someone a fascist when you're actually supporting it.
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Those social democracies are doing far better than the US is, and in fact, Norway's sovereign wealth fund passed 1 trillion last year. I'd say that's pretty fucking good. You worthless little fascist shitheads don't seem to have much understanding about governments.... you just want to be perpetual two year olds with your diapers full of crap. Tell me, does it hurt being
Kim Jong Un disagrees with the unnamed source (Score:2)
KJU: "we don't need to do more tests now that we have a working weapon"
source: "Kim has committed himself to the path of denuclearization".
These are very different paths.
Learned well from Kim Jong-Ill (Score:2)
I guess some people might be too young or have too short memories, but this is nothing new.
It's a tactic played well by his father that he must've learned exactly how to play from an young age.
Make threats and become belligerent when a new US president shows up, escalate aggression, call the world's attention, put everyone on high alert. Internally you ramp up nationalism, tell citizens their way of living is being threatened, ramp up defense, the leader gets to say he'll do everything to defend the "greate
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It seems to be playing out so that if there is a deal, all the important parts will be negotiated by the Korean leaders first, and if that deal adds up to a deal that the US can support, then whoever is the US President on some day shortly after that will sign some papers that also say the same things. And they will get some attention for it.
The difference with Iran is that Iran and Israel are about to go to open warfare, and then that deal won't even matter.
If different American groups support a deal in Ko
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Huh? China's only had nukes (including H-bombs that are known to, well, *work*) and actual intercontinental BMs to put them on for about 50 years now. In case you missed it, the Chinese have also been putting people and things like space stations [slashdot.org] into orbit for a number of years.
The notion of NK supplying the PRC with nuclear and/or missile technology is ludicrous.
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Saddam and Gaddafi were unfortunate enough to have globalists like Bush or Obama on the other end.
Saddam and Gaddafi were unfortunate enough not to share a land border with China.
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You may be a fan of régimes that feed their populations into grinders to make armies and nukes and to guarantee a rich lifestyle for the Leader and his inner circle. I'm not.