4D - North KOREAN DAMAGE REPORT 



NORTH KOREAN DIPLOMATIC FAILURES

 AND MILITARY ACHIEVEMENTS

Seoul, South Korea (CNN)  —    North Korea has still not reacted to the United States’ presidential election. 
According to analysts, it's highly unlikely that President-elect Joe Biden would have been North Korean leader Kim Jong Un's preferred candidate.

President Donald T-RUMP has been unique among American leaders for his willingness to personally engage with Kim, providing him with a sense of legitimacy on the world stage, even though those efforts have since stalled.  More like photo-ops with no substance this is T-RUMP a liar, failure, and no balls.

“For them, T-RUMP was a big deal, they had three summit meetings, unprecedented meetings." No photo-ops for T-RUMP claiming everything and delivering nothing…  The highly unusual relationship was underscored by the countless missives, described by T-RUMP as “love letters," that the two men exchanged during Trump's four years in office.  Verbal blowjobs, no substance

Biden is the opposite end of the pole.  e will not play Kim’s games.Biden, on the other hand, has been brutal in his criticism of Trump’s engagement with Kim, which according to the president-elect weakened US sanctions. Biden called Kim a "thug" during the last presidential debate and has been highly critical of North Korea throughout the entirety of this year's presidential campaign. 

It's unclear what comes next for Biden. He has outlined his priorities on entering the White House and North Korea does not feature, nor is a meeting likely any time soon. Unlike Trump, Biden has made it clear he would be unwilling to sit down with Kim without preconditions. 

But precedent suggests North Korea has a tendency to stage some kind of provocation in the early stages of a new US administration. Pyongyang fired a missile just weeks after President Trump was inaugurated in 2017, setting the tone for a volatile and tense year.

Experts are split as to whether North Korea will feel the need to do the same for Biden.  “The North Koreans often telegraph what they’re going to do. "If you listen carefully to their statements they usually indicate where they are heading, and I would say there's been almost no signals that they're planning a major provocation or test."

As Yun points out, these are different times for Kim -- and a missile test might not be as high on his agenda as it was four years ago.

"They now have proven that they have a viable ICBM (intercontinental ballistic missile) that can reach almost anywhere in the continental US, they also have a very big nuclear device which they tested in 2017," Yun said. 

A response will most likely include the immediate resumption of large-scale US-South Korea military exercises, new military deployments to Korea and the surrounding area and a major effort to impose new sanctions and strengthen existing measures, said Revere. "As well as to take new steps designed to isolate, weaken and pressure the North Korean regime," he added.

It is not clear at this time what pressure China, North Korea's main trading partner and ally, would exert to prevent a resumption of testing. It's also not clear how a US-China relationship, currently at its lowest point in years, would progress.

Trump's personal style may have led to three history-making summits, but nuclear talks between the two countries have been stuck in neutral for months. 

Diplomacy with North Korea will likely be much more process oriented, “Under T-RUMP what we’ve seen is a personalistic style which is almost unprecedented,” more like self gratification with no substance.  “A Biden administration is going to be an administration, there’s going to be a coherence to it."

ED NOTE:   KimJung Un and President T-RUMP meet once again on th 38th Parallel alliance hall where the truce was signed, not an agreement, a truce.  They should be able to agree.  Lets make it the New Years Eve gift to the world by blowing the building off the face of the earth and getting rid of two problems…at once ours and theirs…


He Talks The Talk, He Fails, Kills Thousands, Makes Missiles and People Starve
(CNN)   When the world’s youngest dictator addressed his 25 million or so people on May 7, 2016, he made a bold promise.   In just five years, the livelihoods of all North Koreans would be markedly improved, said Kim Jong Un, then 32 years old. North Korea would become a "highly civilized socialist country" whose people would enjoy the "conditions and environment for leading a wealthy and a highly civilized life to their heart's content," Kim said.

The goal was ambitious bordering on impossible.  At the time, North Korea was one of the world's poorest countries, and an international pariah restrained by economic sanctions for its dogged pursuit of a nuclear weapons program. 

Kim appeared confident that, after purging dozens of officials who served under his father, ( Note:  Purging in North Korea is similar to being killed by some grotesque method )  A new cohort of leaders under his stewardship could turn things around. But the economic vision Kim laid out at that major conference in 2016 -- the first Workers' Party of Korea Congress since 1980 -- was not supported by any details other than a vague five-year plan, the economic agendas common among 20th century communist states. 

There were no specifics, and certainly no major policy changes designed to achieve Kim’s aim.  Now to today, this Saturday, October 10, marks 75 years since the founding of the Workers' Party of Korea -- the communist political party that has ruled North Korea since the country's inception.

By now, Kim could have expected to have been celebrating his country's economic success alongside one of its most significant national days.   It would have been a golden propaganda opportunity to portray Kim as one of the most important leaders and freedom fighters in Korean history, or at least North Korea's version of it. 


He Like T-RUMP Creates a Problem and Then Claims He Fixed It —
This photo, upper right,  taken on May 6, 2016, and released on May 7 by North Korea’s official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) shows North Korean leader Kim Jong Un making an opening speech during the 7th Workers Party Congress.

But the last few years haven't panned out as Kim might have hoped, and by mid-August of 2020, he admitted what had become abundantly clear: the plan had failed. 

Kim blamed “  Un-expected and inevitable challenges in various aspects and the situation in the region surrounding the Korean peninsula,” according to a report published by North Korea’s state-run news agency KCNA.  State media didn't specify which challenges, but they are likely to include sanctions, the coronavirus pandemic and fallout from recent floods.

October 10 will still be celebrated, though it's unclear how the country will adapt its customary military parades amid the coronavirus pandemic.   Satellite images taken in August and September appear to show rehearsals are underway, according to an analysis by North Korea specialty website 38-North. 

And a handful of experts believe Pyongyang may use the opportunity to reveal a new "strategic weapon" that Kim teased in January. Still, October 10 was supposed to be more than just a military parade -- it was supposed celebration of all Kim Jong Un had accomplished in the last five years. Instead, Kim must mark the occasion while facing the most daunting set challenges he has seen since taking power.


A Strategy Half-Finished

Two years after taking power in 2012, Kim announced North Korea would be guided a new national strategy of developing the country's nuclear weapons program while simultaneously working to jump start the economy.

The two were hardly given equal weight in practice. Kim oversaw more ballistic missile and nuclear weapons tests than his father and grandfather combined, while the economy sputtered along year after year. The focus on weapons yielded fruit in 2017, when Kim successfully tested a hydrogen bomb and three intercontinental ballistic missiles, the type of projectiles designed to deliver nuclear warheads over long distances. While experts still debate whether or not North Korea can successfully pair the two and hit a precise target half a world away, the regime demonstrated enough new capabilities to worry the United States and its allies. 

In his annual New Year's Day address in 2018, a speech akin to a US President's State of the Union, Kim said that North Korea had completed its effort to develop viable nuclear weapons and ballistic missiles and thanked his people for paying the price.

"We have created a mighty sword for defending peace, as desired by all our people who had to tighten their belts for long years," he said. 

North Korea's nuclear weapons program was costly, and more than just in terms of man hours and materiel. Each weapons test was seen as a major provocation by the international community. They were met with increasingly punishing United Nations Security Council resolutions. At first, sanctions mostly targeted North Korea's weapons production capabilities, but by 2017, the international community was going after Pyongyang's ability to make money overseas on everything from shellfish to coal. The hope was that these measures would choke North Korea's economy to the point that it would force Kim to the negotiating table.

When the time came for his January 2018 speech -- approaching two years into the five-year plan -- Kim shifted gears. He was ready to embrace diplomacy, and he did it fast. In just six months, Kim went from global pariah to a statesman holding court with the leaders of China, South Korea, Singapore and the United States. 

What exactly motivated Kim to stop weapons testing and emerge from isolation is still debated. US President Donald Trump's administration claims sanctions, which Washington had largely organized and pushed for, gave Kim no choice but to negotiate. Kim, on the other hand, said in March of 2018 that his country no longer needed weapons tests because its quest for nuclear bombs and the missiles to deliver them was complete. Diplomacy was the logical next move.  Kim now had his weapons and he was ready to talk. 


KIM JONG-UN

NK Translation “ 머리가 뚱뚱하고 사람들을 죽이는 사람 

MURDERER, Supreme Fearless Leader and DONALD T-RUMPS BFF

Kim Jong-un (officially transcribed Kim Jong Un;  Korean: 김정은)  
Born 8 January 1982, 1983, or 1984)
He is a North Korean politician.  In addition a murderer and ruler of millions of impoverished and imprisoned countrymen.

He has been Supreme Leader of North Korea since 2011 and Chairman of the Workers’ Party of Korea since 2012.  Kim is the second child of Kim Jong-il 1941–2011), the country’s second leader from 1994 to 2011, and Ko Yong-hui (1952–2004).

He is the grandson of Kim Il-sung, who was the founder and first leader of North Korea from 1948 to 1994. Kim is the first North Korean leader who was born after the country’s founding, and is also the second youngest leader currently serving head of government in the world.  

He was voted in as leader by his Congress ( as corrupt as our Senators are) by 98-2.  The two were later probably shot. Vegas odds 30,000-1

 

BORN TO BE WILD
From late 2010, Kim Jong-Un was viewed as heir apparent to the leadership of the DPRK, and following the elder Kim’s death, North Korean State television announced him as the “ Great Successor”. Kim holds the titles of Chairman of the Workers’ Party of Korea (as First Secretary between 2012 and 2016), Chairman of the Central Military Commission, Chairman of the State Affairs Commission, Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, and member of the Presidium of the Politburo of the Workers' Party of Korea, the highest decision-making body in North Korea.  

Kim was promoted to the rank of Marshal of North Korea in the Korean People's Army on 18 July 2012, consolidating his position as the Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces.   North Korean State media often refers to him as Marshal Kim Jong-Un, “the Marshal” or “Dear Respected.”  When there is a gun at your head, anyone is respected. Those whom he replaced have yet to be found

POPULATION CONTROL AND EMOTIONAL WARMTH ( NONE)

  • On 12 December 2013, Kim ordered the execution of his uncle Jang Song-thaek for “  Treachery”.   He fell asleep during one of Kim’s three hour speeches.
  •  Kim is widely believed to have ordered the assassination of his half-brother, Kim Jong-Nam, in Malaysia in February 2017 because he was a threat to the throne. Obviously getting rid of your family makes for clearer thinking.
  • The love moat - the affair T-RUMP fell into.  In 2018, Kim Jong-Un and President of South Korea Moon Jay-In met twice in Panmunjom on the border between North and South, and once in Pyongyang.  On 12 June 2018, Kim and US President      Donald T-RUMP met for a summit in Singapore, the first-ever talks held between a North Korean leader and a sitting US President, to discuss the North Korean nuclear program.   It was a bullshit bust
  • A follow-up meeting in Hanoi in February 2019 ended abruptly without an agreement.  Shortest pissing battle in history.  
  • On 25 April 2019, Kim and Russian President Vladimir Putin held their first summit in Vladivostok, Russia.  Possibly, well probably T-RUMP appreciates another scumbag like himself. 
  • A true family man till he shoots you and he is also is known to use flamethrowers and an 23 mm anti-aircraft gun. He is  nothing but a psychopathic killer and a good fiend/friend for our psychopathic narcissistic loser.


Three Meetings, Two Leaders, One Big Disagreement
rump and Kim met three times: June 2018 in Singapore, February 2019 in Hanoi and then again briefly at the demilitarized zone that divides the two Koreas in June 2019. By the third meeting, North Korea was more than three years into its five-year plan, but had yet to deliver the economic prosperity promised to its people.

Things had largely been going Kim's way until he met Trump in the Vietnamese capital. By that point, the young North Korean leader had arguably completed an advanced nuclear weapons program; repaired relations with longtime ally China; and held a meeting with a sitting US president, a propaganda victory his father and his grandfather -- the man who founded North Korea -- had only dreamed of.

Kim came to Hanoi ready to make a deal to shut down Yongbyon, the biggest and best-known facility in North Korea that produced fissile material for nuclear weapons, in exchange for sanctions relief, according to Trump's former national security adviser, John Bolton. 

But Trump's administration vowed that sanctions relief would not come before Kim surrendered his nuclear weapons. North Korea had struck phased, step-by-step nuclear deals with previous US administrations, but all those had failed. Trump and his aides made it clear it was time for something new. 

Trump wanted some sort of "big deal" that saw North Korea give up its nuclear program quickly for immediate sanctions relief. A top State Department official said Washington was seeking something like a nuclear down payment.

But such a deal requires a modicum of trust, something the two sides do not have. North Korea has long looked at leaders like Moammar Gadhafi of Libya -- who gave up his incipient nuclear weapons program in exchange for financial relief, only to be overthrown by US-backed forces years later -- as cautionary tales.

The disagreement over the big picture didn't derail things in Singapore, but it proved insurmountable in Hanoi. 

Kim repeatedly pushed a deal along the lines of Yongbyon-for-sanctions relief, but he was not keen to negotiate away ballistic missiles or North Korea's secret nuclear sites, according to Bolton's recently published memoir. Bolton said he was told by Secretary of State Mike Pompeo that Kim told Trump and the top US diplomat he was "very frustrated" and "getting angry" that Washington wasn't keen on the trade. Later, when Bolton was in the room, he said Kim appeared "visibly frustrated" when it became clear the two sides had reached an impasse. 

Trump decided to walk away, concluding that Kim wasn't ready to agree to something the White House was interested in. Working-level talks between the two sides both before and after Hanoi failed to yield any substantial progress, though the two leaders continued corresponding through letters. 

So Pyongyang resumed weapons testing, though not the long-range ballistic missiles that could reach the United States, and Kim gave the US something of an ultimatum: come up with some new ideas by the end of the year, or else.   That deadline came and went, and all the while, North Korea's economy continued to struggle. Sanctions are still place and are keeping Pyongyang from improving its economic outlook.

By January 1, 2020, North Korea was four years into the five-year plan and the country's economy had not yet made any significant headway.   The forthcoming global pandemic would make things worse. 


Pandemic problems

North Korea might be one of the most isolated countries in the world, but its close proximity and relations with China meant it couldn't take any chances when the coronavirus emerged in the Chinese city of Wuhan.

Foreign travel to North Korea was extremely limited even before the pandemic, but in January the country shut its borders, announced a "state emergency" and set up anti-epidemic headquarters around the country.

The decision made sense. Doctors who have defected in recent years paint a picture of a derelict health care system in dire need of upgrades. North Korea's medical infrastructure would likely be overwhelmed in the event of a major outbreak. Strictly enforcing public health measures and closing the border have likely helped prevent the virus from spreading.

But even for a country known as the "hermit kingdom" that prides itself on independence -- the country's state ideology, Juche, is often translated as "self-reliance" -- a lockdown comes with serious costs. 

A North Korean COVID-19 outbreak might be the biggest threat Kim Jong Un has ever faced. 

Pyongyang is heavily reliant on trade with China to keep its economy afloat. Clamping down on the border essentially cut North Korea off from its economic lifeline, and the total volume of trade between the two countries crashed before briefly rising again in June, according to Chinese customs data reported by North Korean news monitoring site NK News.

Historic flooding this summer brought on by major storms also strained resources. With the pandemic raging and sanctions still in place, it was clear that Kim's aim to give his people a "wealthy and a highly civilized life" would not pan out. 

Kim threw in the towel in August, and KCNA reported that North Korea would form a new Party Congress to assess what went wrong. The North Korean leader is expected to announce a new five-year plan early next year.


The Show Will Go On  —  “ Secret Strategic Weapon ”  
Kim may not be able to celebrate economic glory on October 10, but experts predict he will use the opportunity to give the world a glimpse of some of North Korea’s newest advanced weaponry — perhaps the mysterious “ Strategic weapon" he teased at the start of the year. He did and this is it


Satellite imagery appears to show some movement at a shipping yard that's known for submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM) development, fueling speculation that Pyongyang may test a new, solid-fueled SLBM.

North Korea has tested liquid-fueled submarine missiles before, but their solid-fueled counterparts are more advanced -- and easier to fire at short notice. A successful launch would represent another major milestone in North Korea's push for modern weapons technology.

Whatever North Korea teases or tests, any new weaponry is likely to receive plenty of attention. Within North Korea, a show of military strength will serve as a timely distraction from the pandemic, the economy and Kim's failed five-year plan. 

The Kim family's reign in North Korea has proven remarkably durable. Kim's father, Kim Jong Il, remained in power despite a famine that killed hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of people. 

When Kim took power after his father's death in 2011, he defied widespread expectations of his imminent demise, proving himself to be a shrewd and calculating politician.

Kim's economic ambitions may not have materialized, but the North Korean leader is likely to be around for some time yet. The international community will be watching closely in January when he releases his next five-year plan, to see how the North Korean leader intends to build wealth in an economy heavily restrained by sanctions.


PHOTO-OP CONTEST

How to make a phony two bastards look sincere…For the Photo-Op

    


THE PRESIDENT: “ I will help you, sell out my country and get you a T-RUMP hotel”
THE SUPREME LEADER: “ Thanks but no thanks, I’m keeping my missiles and Nukes

 


THE PRESIDENT: “ I will help you, sell out my country and get you a T-RUMP hotel”
THE SUPREME LEADER:  This jerk is dumber than a rock
actually a bunch of rocks!

    

 

THE PRESIDENT: “ I will help you, sell out my country and get you a T-RUMP hotel”
THE SUPREME LEADER: “ Thanks but no thanks, You may kiss my ring now and go home.


EDITORIAL IMPUT:   When we talk about relationships with certain countries it really means little what the people there will, think, or want.  Thats not in the equation, you just don’t make choices when you have a Makarov 9MM or an AK-47 behind your ear.  Using Russian and Chinese arms.  Diplomacy is 100% in the mind of the holder and that holder is KIM JONG UN and his army is the holder of those guns.

 

BREAKING NEWS BUT UNVERIFIED

(CNN)The US is monitoring intelligence that suggests North Korea’s leader, Kim Jong Un, is in grave danger after undergoing a previous surgery, according to a US official with direct knowledge. Thats what happens when you use round instruments on a square head…

 If the reports that Kim Jong Un is very ill are true, heres's hoping he has the same Doctors that treated Otto Warmbier with a similar ending.  One ( Otto) went to heaven and the other ( KIM) hopefully will go to hell.

We are all praying for him, unfortunately it is hopeful and aimed that he doesn’t make it, and if so it will be the largest funeral in the world since his Army will be there to make sure they crowds will be all crying. Bayonets make people cry…a lot.   Some say he went in for a hair plant for his great affliction for his fiend   Donald T-RUMP…  



“ PEAS IN A POD  —  OR HEMORROIDS IN A BOWL



📸   CLASSIC PHOT-OP FUBAR

  

THE GAME SHOW  — DEAL OR NO DEAL…NO DEAL 😟

  

THE QUEST OF SQUAREHEAD JONG UN

“ THE WORLD STAGE AS A NUCLEAR POWER

THANKS TO T-RUMPS FALLING FOR KJU’S BULLSH*T 

 

GOP CHALLENGES NORTH KOREA

 TO DANCING WITH THE RED STARS    

There is one thing the GOP does right!   Obstructionism and Dancing Around With Facts.  ... The GOP attacks evenly, every recruit spinning the same lies, regardless of whether it on TV or print.   The pitch is to the same drummer, with the same beat and after numerous talking head interviews on the TV, it’s the same coordinated rhetoric.  Just like these super marching stars.

 

The “ Stechschritt” or high kick is intended to intimidate the enemy by demonstrating both discipline and devotion”.   In the West however,  it was determined the step is used to get or kick the person in front of them to go into the minefield first.  Note the leg of the soldier just to the right of the officers hat, concentration, she’s really close to the butt of the one in front of her, now thats precision “sh*t -kicking perfection!

 

 

These are the famed North Korean Goose-steppers, Rocket-man’s personal show group just back from a world Communist tour of incredible precision and graceful coordination.   They easily out-shined groups from Africa, China, South America, Mesopotamia, Iran, and the combined Syrian/Lebanon Hezbollah team.
 

SWELLED HEADS AMONG THE GENERALS


In North Korea The Toilet Bowl Hat The Style Of The Hats Denotes Rank…  

Higher the rank, the bigger the hat to accompany the huge amount of technical information and populist cranial crap that Kim Jung Un wrote about himself.  Praise, worship and self adoration en-mass so they can write them down in their little books they all take notes in.  

At a press party the other night one of the journalists commented when these Generals are around Kim Jung Un they all take notes, applaud, complement him, smile and wear their big hats.

On KIMS left, your right Colonel General Fok-tup is teaching his top officers not to submit blank sheets of paper with    너 바위 보스  or neo bawi boseu. (Translation: “you rock boss”).  He wants to see what they wrote, since he can’t remember what KIM said either.  


    
North Korea — No More Love Letters From Kim Jung Un 

Lots Of Promises, Love Letters Lots Of Photo-Ops, And Grand Standing Images Regardless It Turned Into A Magnum Sized Expensive Bullsh*T Session And No Treaty… Kim Jung Un Beat Three Presidents, T-Rump Was A Lapdog Layover Loser… And Kim Laughs At Him…

North Korea has blown up -- as in, completely destroyed -- an office used for talks between itself and South Korea. If ever there were a sign that the relationship between the adversaries is deteriorating, this is it. The building has been closed for months due to the COVID-19, but it was obviously a symbol of goodwill between the nations. 

North Korea says it decided to raze the office as yet another retaliatory measure against South Korea after defectors used balloons to send anti-North Korean leaflets of the DMZ. 

The country recently announced it is cutting all ties with South Korea over the incident and will remilitarize parts of the Korean border that have been dormant for years. It's illegal -- and extremely risky -- for average North Koreans to consume literature or entertainment that's not approved by the government. Experts also suspect North Korea’s recent actions may be its attempt to gin up a crisis.


The North Korean Love Letters  —  Almost a Spoof Of T-RUMP “Played Again”
(CNN) Bob Woodward obtained the 27 “ Love letters" President Donald Trump exchanged with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, 25 of which have not been reported publicly. The letters, filled with flowery language, provide a fascinating window into their relationship. 

Kim flatters Trump by repeatedly calling him "Your Excellency," and writes in one letter that meeting again would be "reminiscent of a scene from a fantasy film." In another, Kim writes that the "deep and special friendship between us will work as a magical force." CNN has obtained the transcripts of two of the letters.

Woodward, a two-time Pulitzer Prize winner, was shown the letters but was not permitted to make copies or take photos. He dictated the letters into his tape recorder, and these are transcripts as he read them:  Once again the little mini-creep plays out his game and makes T-RUMP look like a weak fool…


Dec. 25, 2018 Letter From Kim Jong Un To T-Rump

Your Excellency,
It has been 200 days since the historic DPRK-US summit in Singapore this past June, and the year is now almost coming to an end. Even now I cannot forget that moment of history when I firmly held Your Excellency's hand at that beautiful and sacred location as the whole world watched with great interest and hope to relive the honor of that day. As I mentioned at that time, I feel very honored to have established an excellent relationship with a person such as Your Excellency.

As the new year 2019 approaches, critical issues that require endless effort toward even higher ideals and goals still await us. Just as Your Excellency frankly noted, as we enter the new year the whole world will certainly once again come to see, not so far in the future, another historic meeting between myself and Your Excellency reminiscent of a scene from a fantasy film.

I have already instructed my closest and most trusted colleagues and the relevant organs to speed up the preparations for holding a second DPRK-US summit and am prepared to achieve good results with Your Excellency during the next meeting.

Nevertheless, what worries me is that it may not reflect positively on us should both sides appear to stubbornly insist on our respective positions regarding the location of the summit. It could also result in wasting a lot of time. Therefore, my position is to urgently hold senior-level contact between the DPRK and the US to internally (translator's note: privately) discuss and coordinate issues regarding the location.

I hope that Your Excellency will once again demonstrate great decisiveness and excellent leadership to accomplish results in the second DPRK summit. I wholeheartedly hope that the things that Your Excellency seeks to achieve will come to great fruition.

I wish the honorable First Lady, your family and those close to you good health, happiness and great success.

Sincerely, with unchanging respect for Your Excellency the President,
Chairman State Affairs Commission
Democratic People’s Republic of Korea
Kim Jong Un
25 December 2018

June 10, 2019 Letter From Kim Jong Un To Trump

Your Excellency Mr. President,
I am writing this letter to you as we are nearing the first anniversary of our meeting in Singapore on June 12 -- the historic moment of great significance that captured the attention of the world and left an imprint still indelible in my memory -- as well as to congratulate you on your birthday, which is just days away. I take it as a great honor to be able to send such a letter to Your Excellency.

I extend my sincere and warm regards to Your Excellency on the occasion of your birthday. My regards also to the First Lady and the rest of your family and all your people, and I wish everyone good health and happiness and hope that everyone's dream will become a beautiful reality.

Like the brief time we had together a year ago in Singapore, every minute we shared 103 days ago in Hanoi was also a moment of glory that remains a precious memory. Such a precious memory that I have in my unwavering respect for you will provide impetus for me to take my steps when we walk toward each other again someday in the future.

I also believe that the deep and special friendship between us will work as a magical force that leads the progress of the DPRK-US relations, clearing all the hurdles we face in the process of bringing about the developments we seek to achieve.

Your Excellency Mr. President, I still respect and lay my hopes on the will and determination that you showed in our first meeting to resolve the issue of our unique style that nobody had ever tried, and to write a new history. Today's reality is that without a new approach and the courage it takes, the prospects for resolution of the issue will only be bleak.

I believe the one day will come sooner or later when we sit down together to make great things happen, with the will to give another chance to our mutual trust. Such a day should come again. It may well be recorded as yet another fantastic moment in history.

I assure Your Excellency that my respect for you will never change.

Happy birthday once again, Your Excellency. I hope Your Excellency will always be in good health and achieve success in your work. I extend my best wishes on behalf of my family to the First Lady and the rest of your family.

Sincerely yours,
Kim Jong UnJune 10, 2019

“If the president says ‘Fire and brimstone’ and then two weeks later says ‘This is my best friend,’ that’s not necessarily bad—but it’s bad if the rest of the relevant people in the government responsible for executing the strategy aren’t aware that that’s the strategy,” the general said. Having a process to figure out the sequences of steps is essential. “The process tells the president what he should say. 

When I was working with Obama and Bush,” he continued, “before we took action, we would understand what that action was going to be, we’d have done a Q&A on how we think the international community is going to respond to that action, and we would have discussed how we’d deal with that response.”

To operate outside of an organized process, as Trump tends to, is to reel from crisis to rapprochement to crisis, generating little more than noise. This haphazard approach could lead somewhere good—but it could just as easily start a very big fire.

If the president eschews the process, this general told me, then when a challenging national-security issue arises, he won’t have information at hand about what the cascading effects of pursuing different options might be. “He’s kind of shooting blind.” Military commanders find that disconcerting.

“The process is not a panacea—Bush and Obama sometimes made bad decisions even with all the options in front of them—but it does help.”

ATCH 10-27-2020 aljacobsladder.com