It's time for America's leaders to act and seize the opportunities

North Korea's developments could present an opportunity to open up to Washington

  • The relationship between Trump and Kim was private, according to the North Korean president.

    EPA

  • The sister of the Korean president accused Biden of being more aggressive than Trump when he decided to resume military exercises with South Korea.

    Father

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Two facts about North Korea-US relations were evident during the midway stage of 2021: First, relations are now much less cordial than they were under former President Donald Trump, with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un describing his relationship with President Trump as “special.” By comparison, North Korea's Central News Agency called President Joe Biden an "idiot."

In mid-March, the sister of North Korean President Kim Yo-Yong accused Biden of being more aggressive than Trump, when he decided to resume military exercises with South Korea compared to Trump, who suspended them.

Secondly, it may be due to the progress that has been made under the Trump administration, as the aggressiveness has not reached the level it was during the administration of President Barack Obama, so is there any chance in the current situation?

Understanding recent developments in North Korea

In recent weeks, all kinds of rumors about Kim Jong Un's health have spread, in addition to a change of government.

Some experts have discussed these events one at a time, but those with the best negotiating acumen know that North Korea's moves can be best understood in conjunction with one another.

First, in a speech last April to North Korea's ruling Workers' Party, Kim spoke of "difficult times" ahead of us, the same language his father used in the 1990s during the famine.

Second: The day when Kim Jong-un made a change of government, and this was evident in the line-up of state leaders at the “National Memorial Day” ceremony at the Sun Palace in Pyongyang, where some of the most important state leaders, especially the army leaders, sat in the back rows, The most famous of them, Ri Byung Choi, a military official who was in charge of the country's nuclear weapons program, was sitting in the back rows and was dressed in civilian, not military, clothes. Prior to this ceremony, Kim had reprimanded senior officials for acting irresponsibly during their leadership of North Korea, which led to the current "big crisis", a crisis that Chairman Kim said occurred as a result of the Corona pandemic and the state of starvation suffered by the North Korean people, which was caused by Also about the floods that occurred last year, which destroyed crops.

Third: During several times of Kim's public appearances, it was clear that he lost a large amount of weight, and this fact is worth considering because the people of North Korea like their leaders to be fat, because they believe it is a sign of health and prosperity;

Therefore, some have speculated that Kim is ill, but one indication that he is not suffering from a fatal disease is that he has allowed news commentators to talk about his weight loss.

Their conclusion was that Leader Kim wants to share the same suffering with his people, and perhaps that Kim is sick, and that losing some weight can help his recovery.

Handling issues

Kim knows that his approach should be to "address issues according to importance" and to improve his treatment of his people before brandishing nuclear weapons at the United States, Japan and South Korea.

The Corona virus has caused severe suffering to the people of North Korea, so the United States can take advantage of the opportunity and provide assistance to Pyongyang against Corona, which could pave the way for negotiations between the two countries, either directly or through South Korea.

Another door to rapprochement could emerge from North Korea giving priority to its economic problems more than focusing on being a terrifying military power.

The United States has promised that it could cancel sanctions against Pyongyang if it gave up its nuclear weapons.

There is a third chapter as well, perhaps the most obvious, and that is President Trump's meetings with Kim, which provided a degree of momentum that we should not lose just by reversing everything the former president had done.

Regardless of the developments now taking place in North Korea, it is not the time for America's leaders to sit back and watch. Rather, it is time to embrace opportunities and seek to move relations with North Korea forward rather than let the situation slide backwards.

• During several times of Kim's public appearances, it was apparent that he had lost a significant amount of weight.

This fact is worth pondering because the people of North Korea like their leaders to be fat, because they believe it is a sign of health and prosperity.

William Jane - Professor at the University of California

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