The announcement on Thursday that Kim Jong Un was planning to meet, face to face, with President Trump was nothing short of a game-changer. What was even more amazing is that it does not appear the U.S. will have to make any major concessions in order for the meeting to happen.
From Conservative Post:
“North Korea’s desire to meet to discuss denuclearization — while suspending all ballistic missile and nuclear testing – is evidence that President Trump’s strategy to isolate the Kim regime is working,” Pence said in a White House statement Friday.
“The North Koreans are coming to the table despite the United States making zero concessions and, in close coordination with our allies, we have consistently increased the pressure on the Kim regime,” he continued.
“Our resolve is undeterred and our policy remains the same: all sanctions remain in place and the maximum pressure campaign will continue until North Korea takes concrete, permanent, and verifiable steps to end their nuclear program.”
And, as for then White House, they’re making it abundantly clear they’re not going to give in to any sort of concessions in order to have the talks.
White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders has said that North Korea needs to take steps toward denuclearization and stop its missile tests, and that talks won’t happen “until we see concrete actions that match the words and the rhetoric of North Korea.”
Trump’s hardline stance on North Korea has been significantly different than that of previous administrations…[whose administrations were, essentially, not taken as a serious threat.]
The buzz-phrase regarding Pyongyang during Barack Obama’s time in office was “strategic patience,” which allowed the regime to dramatically ramp up its military development — as one can see from the numerous missile and nuclear tests. The truth was that Obama would have never thought of playing rough with North Korea — and North Korea had no intention of sitting down at the table with America.
Trump has made it clear that his threats against the North Koreans are far from idle. He’s not only put pressure on North Korea, he’s put the country’s few remaining allies on notice that his administration has no intention of tolerating those who treat sanctions against Pyongyang lightly.
And, lo and behold, Kim Jong Un is coming to the table. Imagine that.
Coincidence? Mike Pence doesn’t think so, and I think you would be hard pressed to find anyone who takes these sorts of things seriously who would disagree.
Basically, what it comes down to is the North Korea is willing to meet with President Trump because they’re afraid that his words are not just words at all – and that he will follow through with defending this country against any enemy, including North Korea. Past presidents have never been considered enough of a threat, especially Obama.
