This possibility may indeed have some circulation in our government.
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” believes that one of the problems with negotiating with the DPRK is that we do not know at the moment whether the DPRK chain of command is in fact absolutely unified under KJI. “
In other words, he’s not sure who to pay-off...
(I gather that this is the same Christopher Hill who thought the “Six-Party-Talks” were a great success, when they committed greatly increased ‘aid’ (AKA ‘Danegeld’) to NK, for no substantive concessions in return??)
That is an insane term “a peace process” when you are talking about an insane dictator
Maybe we get lucky and they have a civil ware and Nuke themselves.
Could some in the NK military be trying to create an incident that flares up into open conflict PRECISELY because they know that is the only way to rid NK of the corrupt leadership?
You can hide the truth of the world’s wealth & enormous freedoms from the poverty stricken starving masses; but it is pretty hard to hide it from every military officer.
With Clintoon at State and Zero in WH, no one in this country has a clue about what is going on in NK. You can get more diplomacy and foreign policy from a Cracker Jacks box.
This can't end well.
So, the reality is obscure or at best murky.
The best course remains careful caution until the old man (my age) kicks the bucket. When that happens, no one knows for sure what will take place.
It would seem the definition of North Korea may not actually be known and certainly not the same as six months ago
Disclaimer...... I look extremely healthy compared to him
This guy is our ambassador? We're screwed.
So the Army is not responding to civilian control eh?
We had better hope that the NorK Military doesn’t decide that it is in their best interests to end the Kim Dynasty and install one of their own that looks out for the interests of the Military. Some of the Senior military leaders probably served under Kim Il Sung, and don’t like the idea of serving under the Old Man’s 27 year old C- student of a Grandson.
Central to this problem is the fact that the worst nightmare the Chinese have is a total collapse of the NorK Government, and the subsequent wave of 23 million desperate starving North Korean civilians trying to escape into China. The Chinese Government may well end up supporting whomever can guarantee there will be no flood of refugees.
On the other hand, the NorK’s professional military is not anxious to try and defend their conventionally armed forces from the ravages of the US Navy, US Air Force, Japanese Defense Forces and anyone else who joins the fray in response to another stupid stunt by either Kim.
Very touchy situation still, and the shooting could start again at any moment.
Did it ever occur to Ambassador Hill that the Kims not being able to work their will with the North Korean military might be a good thing? Kim Jong-il is desperate to maintain his family’s dictatorial control. He might do something really stupid in order to further that end. He already did a stupid thing with regard to this artillery barrage. It seems clear that Kim wanted the barrage, and the military carried it out.
Once again, the State Department is clueless about how to further this country’s, and the World’s, interests. Let the North Korean military thumb their nose at Kim. That may be the best way to get rid of him and his son.
By the way, where’s Hillary? I see the Obama Administration still has her under wraps.
All is lost.
Hey Chris, do us all a favor, OK? Shut up and retire and right a book or somethong. On how you MISERABLY FAILED, based on preceding with an unworkable idea with an illogical endgame, all the while giving the North carte blanche time to build up their deterrent and reach near parity behind the scenes. There will be no more detested name in recent Korean-American diplomatic and geo-political history in my mind than CHRISTOPHER HILL when this all shakes out one day--maybe soon. He will truly join Neville Chamberlain as men who proclaimed they were for peace and worked for harmony, but in the long run ended up facilitating the most horrendous wars.
When did N. Korea ever act under a “civilian” leadership. Give me a break! It is, and always has been, a military dictatorship run by a sick, demented little chia-pet family.
Christopher Hill is a total moron & a tool.
Because you see, CHINA has a magic crystal ball that tells them how to penetrate an "unclear, un-unified" chain of command" that makes them able to see & do things that America cannot.