For a country, its size – North Korea (or DPRK) has a disproportionate influence on the world politics. Kim Jong-Un has ensured that everything from his nuclear tests to his country’s participation in Winter Olympics is headline in global press. His diplomats while labeled rogue are offered more respect than others. For more countries, a possibility of being neutral to North Korea opens doors to tech that is otherwise off limit to them. The worst part is that this is all result of policies that was supposed to isolate the hermit country and subjugate it into submission.
Kim Jong-Un has constantly surprised his observers by first being reckless with his nuke and rocketry toys and then by being adroit with his diplomacy with both the South Koreans and the US. His proposal to now end the Korean war may lead him straight into history books as a keeper of peace, while US may well be left out for being the only country to have actually used a nuclear weapon against a civilian population.
The proposed Kim-Trump Summit is further unsettling officials across the region.While no one really understands the final goal of Kim, what is certain his offers of a halt on Nuke and Missile testing is going to be a smoke screen. By offering a new kind of ceasefire (and ending older one with South Korea by declaring end of war) Pyongyang has already cemented its position with higher moral upper hand even before the actual negotiations started.
Demands of US-Japan-South Korea have been subjugated to announcements that give emotional relief to US and South Korea while Japan- the eternal enemy of Korean people goes empty handed. The moves have certainly out maneuvered the allies with all of them being forced to welcome the announcements. Trump’s twitter hail not withstanding Kim Jong-Un’s game is certainly better than his years in diplomacy and any hurried communication on it will only play to the devices of the young supreme leader.
