Trump’s decision to scale back South Korea-U.S. drills and reopen talks with Kim Jong Un is drawing criticism as a sign of misplaced trust in North Korea. The column says Trump is ignoring Kim, Vladimir Putin, and Xi Jinping’s cooperation against U.S. interests while weakening allied readiness. It quotes retired Rear Adm. Mark Montgomery saying treating Kim as a partner is illogical and counterproductive. The piece argues Trump’s personal diplomacy has not changed the behavior of the four adversaries, including Iran.
U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korea's leader Kim Jong-un hold a meeting during the second U.S.-North Korea summit at the Sofitel Legend Metropole hotel in Hanoi on Feb. 28, 2019. AFP-TNS
He’s become world famous for embracing America’s enemies and backstabbing our allies. Yet, President Donald Trump outdid himself Sunday — on the eve of joint military exercises with South Korea — when he announced the U.S. was scaling back participation to avoid offending his great friend, the nuclear-armed North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un.
Perhaps this was just a frantic attempt to shift attention from the quagmire in Iran. Having failed to end Tehran’s nuclear program, the president is offering nuclear talks “without preconditions” to Kim. You will recall the two “fell in love” after Kim wrote Trump “beautiful letters” in 2018, and he responded in kind.
