Monday, November 12, 2018

North Korea's Nuke & Missile Program: Back Front and Center — No Big Surprise Either

Back in the news right where Kim, Jung-un wants it

Advice on North Korea: Never look back

SEOUL (Reuters via MSN) - A U.S. think tank says it had identified at least 13 of an estimated 20 undeclared missile operating bases inside North Korea, underscoring the challenge for American negotiators hoping to persuade Pyongyang to give up its nuclear weapons and long-range missiles. 

In reports released by the Washington, DC-based Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), researcher Joseph Bermudez said maintenance and minor infrastructure improvements have been observed at some of the sites, despite the ongoing negotiations.

North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un and President Donald Trump pledged to work toward denuclearization at their landmark June summit in Singapore, but the agreement was short on specifics and negotiations have made little headway. Noteworthy is that shortly after that summit, Trump tweeted (as usual) that “…there is no longer a Nuclear Threat from North Korea.”

North Korea declared its “nuclear force complete” and they halted missile and nuclear bomb testing earlier this year. However, U.S. and South Korean negotiators have yet to elicit from Pyongyang a concrete declaration of the size or scope of the weapons programs, or a promise to stop deploying its existing arsenal.

North Korea said it closed its Pung-gye-ri nuclear testing site and the So-hae missile engine test facility. It also raised the possibility of shuttering more sites and allowing international inspections “if Washington took corresponding measures” (of which there has so far been no sign of).

Recently, North Korea called off a meeting with Secretary of State Mike Pompeo in NY, and their state-run media said the resumption of some small-scale military drills by South Korea and the United States had violated the Trump agreement aimed at lowering tensions on the Korean peninsula.

My 2 cents: Whew boy, here we go again. Distrust, disgust, and disguise on both sides from the two biggest liars and con artists in the world: Donald J. Trump and Kim, Jung-un. 

Bottom line on North Korea: They cannot be trusted and they have the record to prove it. 

Bottom line on Trump: He cannot be believed and he has the record to prove it.

Also, more coverage here (NY TIMES via MSN)

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