Trump Now Says He’s Willing to Meet With Kim in Latest Twist in North Korean Drama


Just as President Trump opened a new avenue for discussions with Kim, the United States provided its South Korean ally with the latest system in missile defense – Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD).

THAAD now is activated in South Korea, despite concerns from China that the system, which uses radar and truck-launched missiles to detect, track and destroy incoming enemy missiles, might be used for spying as well. THAAD was developed by Lockheed Martin as a missile defense shield and has been in use by the U.S. military since 2008.

While the U.S. provides greater military support to South Korea and Japan, and moves a Navy carrier strike group into the region, President Trump just dropped his diplomatic bombshell today in an interview with Bloomberg News.

If it would be appropriate for me to meet with him, I would absolutely, I would be honored to do it. Most political people would never say that, but I’m telling you under the right circumstances I would meet with him. We have breaking news.”

Just yesterday, on CBS News “Face the Nation,” the president called Kim a “smart cookie.”

Is he sane? I have no idea,” Trump explained, adding, “I can tell you this … he was a young man of 26 or 27 when he took over from his father, when his father died. He’s dealing with obviously very tough people, in particular the generals and others. At a very young age, he was able to assume power. A lot of people, I’m sure, tried to take that power away … He was able to do it.”

The more conciliatory tone from the president is a marked contrast with his earlier comments that belittled the dictator as a “madman playing with nukes.”

While Trump’s critics will no doubt latch onto his latest shift as evidence of his political inexperience, what’s likely playing out is a time-proven tactic in the art of the deal from a world-class dealmaker. At the same time, he is working to engage the Chinese leadership in putting pressure on Kim to dial back his threatening behavior.

Just last week, the president stated his desire to solve the crisis diplomatically and avoid what he called a “major, major conflict.” In doing so, he acknowledged the difficulty of the situation.

June 15th, 2016:

Source: http://dailycaller.com/2017/05/01/trump-says-he-would-be-honored-to-meet-kim-jong-un



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