North Korean Sabre Rattling 2013 We Nuclear Baby!

[archibaldcrane]

If this is going to blow up, I'd rather it happen before the summit than afterwards. I'd hate for Trump to have the summit, strike a deal, get feted by the media and then be embarrassed by Kim fucking it up later and making Trump look foolish (and leaving military action as "the only choice").

[6souls]

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-44158566

NK is now pissed at SK and might pull out of talks with them.

[6souls]

North Korea Is Selling Facial Recognition Technology

"North Koreans appear to have marketed virtual private networks (VPNs) and encryption software in Malaysia, sold fingerprint-scanning technology to large Chinese companies and parts of the Nigerian government, produced facial recognition software for law enforcement agencies via front operations, and built websites for myriad individual and corporate clients."

The researchers drew from open source intelligence over a period of months. And they found that through front companies, aliases and freelancing websites, the entities grew so good at concealing their connection to Pyongyang that they amassed unwitting clients "without raising any alarm bells that something is amiss."

Customers ranged from small European firms to "at least one reputable defense firm in a US-allied country" and possibly a U.S. primary school and law enforcement agencies. That means they may have unknowingly and indirectly paid the economically isolated country, which has been sanctioned for its nuclear weapons program.

https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-...y-report-finds
https://www.nonproliferation.org/wp-...dow-sector.pdf
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-n...-idUSKBN1650YE

[archibaldcrane]

Good thread on the state of the Korean talks.

https://twitter.com/Robert_E_Kelly/s...165294081?s=19

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[Tymon]

Kim seems to believe that there may be a coup while he's in Singapore.

I have suspected this for some time. I think he's a puppet leader and has been the whole time. He does not immediately share the views of his father and the cult of personality. It's probably taking all he can do just to not be killed by his top generals.

[Tymon]

Trump has pulled out of the summit.

One could argue this is a continuation of a hardline stance intended to make the Norks cave under pressure, or it could just be that the administration is trying to save face.

Personally I think it's the former and Trump himself probably has next to no involvement but I know I'm in the minority here.

We'll find out soon whether NK is actually desperate.

[Fiye]

Why not both?

[Tymon]

Why not both?

Well, it probably is both. The entire history of Trump's administration is a cycle of saying something then trying to save face and/or make it look as positive as possible.

What I meant is that this entire affair is, in my opinion, an internal PR war between Bolton's team and WH staff. Trump is probably sitting on a couch somewhere eating a Big Mac signing off on whatever Bolton wants with a limp-wristed wave of his hand. Or something like that. That's my favorite mental image anyway.

[Zetanio]

John Bolton is such a tremendous douche.

[Quicklet]

So Trump succeeded in giving away a bunch of major policy/process concessions in order to get three hostages back but achieve nothing with regard to limiting North Korea's nuclear capabilites. Outstanding.

[Fiye]

So Trump succeeded in giving away a bunch of major policy/process concessions in order to get three hostages back but achieve nothing with regard to limiting North Korea's nuclear capabilites. Outstanding.

If you thought we were going to accomplish anything then LOL.

How the fuck are we gonna kill Iran deal (When Iran did not violate it) and then somehow convince NK we were going to give them an Iran deal-like deal and somehow not blow it up for some random reason down the line.

Both Strongmen leaders got some good photo ops. Some good press. And get to come back home and say the other side didn't want to make it work out.

[vagus]

So Trump succeeded in giving away a bunch of major policy/process concessions in order to get three hostages back but achieve nothing with regard to limiting North Korea's nuclear capabilites. Outstanding.

Noble peace prize!


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[Quicklet]

How the fuck are we gonna kill Iran deal (When Iran did not violate it) and then somehow convince NK we were going to give them an Iran deal-like deal and somehow not blow it up for some random reason down the line.

Something something nation building.

[Tymon]

So Trump succeeded in giving away a bunch of major policy/process concessions in order to get three hostages back but achieve nothing with regard to limiting North Korea's nuclear capabilites. Outstanding.

What was conceded for the hostages?

I actually don't know.

[Quicklet]

What was conceded for the hostages?

I actually don't know.

I don't know if there was a specific promise made in order to obtain their release separate from the meeting negotiations, but just with respect to the meeting: sending a high level official (Pompeo at CIA) to meet directly with Kim, agreeing to a meeting between the president and Kim, offering to protect Kim from regime change, creating memorabilia labeling Kim as "Supreme Leader," scrapping some of the military exercises with South Korea. These are all things that North Korea wanted. I'm not sure what (again, other than the hostage release) we have to show for all of that.

[Salodin]

Are we still pretending the coverage of this looks great?

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[Cail]

NK destroyed (supposedly) it's nuclear test site with foreign media present earlier today before the announcement too

[Zealot]

Don't need a test site when you know they work.

[Day]

south korea is test site now

[Aerin]

Are we still pretending the coverage of this looks great?

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Well, if appearances don’t matter then no one will care. If appearances do matter, then it will have an effect. I’m curious to see how Trumps followers will try to spin it. Will probably say he got closer than Obama, so he still deserves the peace prize.