NK defector: Trump absolutely right to walk away from Kim summit, says he'll never give up nukes

The National Sentinel ^ | 3/2/19 | Jon Dougherty

[SleeperCatcher]

A former ranking North Korean official who defected to the West praised President Donald Trump’s decision to walk away from his second summit with Chairman Kim Jong-un during talks in Hanoi, Vietnam, last week, saying it would have been wrong to lift billions of dollars’ worth of sanctions in exchange for Pyongyang shutting down just one nuclear facility.

Thae Yong Ho said in an interview with Fox News that the president “was absolutely right that he cannot give up these sanctions unless Kim Jong-un promises even further denuclearization offers."

Thae, from his new home in South Korea, added that POTUS was also correct in singling out additional nuclear sites he wanted Kim to dismantle as well as part of any long-term denuclearization effort that would eventually lead to major sanctions relief and, in the end, a safer peninsula and prosperity for North Koreans.

[SleeperCatcher]

So much for the opinion of Democrats and the mainstream media 'geniuses' in DC.

[gibsonguy]

But but the state department said the President is lying.

[kingRidiculous]

I think it was correct for Trump to walk away, but I think it’s a valid criticism to say the meeting should not have happened unless the parties were closer to agreement.

Was the gap in agreement clear to Trump prior to the meeting and he went ahead with it anyway? Did he feel they could bridge the gap during the meeting?

It’s my understanding that these meetings happen only after an iron-clad agreement is hammered out by underlings on both sides. If there was no basis for agreement prior to the meeting, I think it should not have happened, and was a waste of time and resources.

On the plus side, the failure makes it crystal clear where the parties stand and the status quo is preserved.

[JPG]

I think it was correct for Trump to walk away, but I think it’s a valid criticism to say the meeting should not have happened unless the parties were closer to agreement.

I think agreements were agreed to pre meeting, but the rat Cohen fiasco let the Norks think they could pull a fast one on PDJT. The tried; he wouldn't bite. Norks (and China) lose and must now reassess.

[shelterguy]

It’s my understanding that these meetings happen only after an iron-clad agreement is hammered out by underlings on both sides.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

That’s what the talking heads are saying.

President Trump knows that the way things have been done in the past does not work. That’s how other countries have been able to roll us over the years. They have a nice signing ceremony and then back to business as usual.

President Trump wants an agreement that works and is decided by the leaders, not some career flunkies who don’t know how to negotiate.

[Bailee]

Disagree.

Trump knew the talks was in jeopardy I think

He does not shy away from the hard fight.

Besides China/NK/Rest of the world saw first hand POTUS is not afraid to say no.

Hell Obama would have accepted and won his 2nd nobel peace prize

[frog in a pot]

It’s my understanding that these meetings happen only after an iron-clad agreement is hammered out by underlings on both sides.
That has worked well in the past in our domestic commercial dealings, even perhaps when intentionally leaving a few loose ends for the top execs to resolve over donuts. Of course, we had competent subordinates who steadily made achievements in the talks according to our game plan and kept us fully informed.

But shelterguy raises a game-changing nuance:
President Trump wants an agreement that works and is decided by the leaders, not some career flunkies who don’t know how to negotiate.
Or, I will add, careerists who are closet anti-Trump operatives who will sabotage proceedings with unauthorized communications

It is very clear that talking with NK is nothing but a discussion with a dedicated (read captive) China agent, and Trump is well aware he will not turn the agent. So, there had better be a clear statement to China, certainly at the back-channel level, that any nuclear hostilities or other aggression initiated by NK will be viewed as initiated by China.

There probably is and, unfortunately, that is how close we may be to a global disruption. I hope Mike Pompeo is on a future presidential ticket, this is a time for strong men.

[plain talk]

I think agreements were agreed to pre meeting, but the rat Cohen fiasco let the Norks think they could pull a fast one on PDJT. The tried; he wouldn't bite.

That's what I have been suspected as well.

[Revolutionary]

Very close I think, but I think Trump and Kim didn’t want to be upstaged by the Cohen crap for such an historic event. Decided to just put it off and give Kim some big-boy points back home.

[Robert DeLong]

You agree with the detractors, and then turn right around and admit you don't know if the detractors are even right. In my opinion President Trump was right to follow through with the meeting, otherwise, he wouldn't know where the progress actually stands. I doubt he is a mind reader, but he was most likely encouraged by what Rocketboy was saying publicly.

Reagan walked away from Gorbachev three times before Russia finally agreed to Reagan's bottom line.

[AmericanInTokyo]

NSC John Bolton was in the room which pissed off the Norks. He (thank God!) had the President’s ear to encourage the submittal in that meeting of US legitimate and worrisome intel that the US side knew of their shell game to offer Yangbyong but otherwise shift out and keep/build up HEU secret production facilities whirring away, busy as beavers, ie a phony deal. This threw the Norks for a loop. KJU is really tweaked over this, it is reported here in Asia he has lost face as they thought Trump and the “bastard Americans” would fall for it. Thank God also POTUS did not wing it one on one like in disastrous Singapore and for once listened to the experts who know very well the dirty tricks of the Norks in detail and don’t fall for their obfuscations, and deferred to their judgement and recommendations. They intel chief who spoke on Congress have been vindicated, and NK proven as insincere.

This top-down, shoot from the hip, fly by the seat of the pants one-man show, and excessive flattery campaign has seen its limits as it would eventually would. Back home NK sells Hanoi as a positive to their people but internally I think heads will roll, the high aides in the room with him —minus his sister—are liable to be purged or sidelined as somebody has to be blamed — and Fat Boy’s domestic situation is also problematic. He is in quite the dilemma, they don’t even say it fell apart. There is no easy way out now for DPRK. Trump should keep this current team IMHO and rid this stupid Nobel Peace Prize fantasy and take out the DPRK trash once and for all . Those inner circle team members, including Biegun, served him well and he also it seems he learned his lesson about those liars and cheats in Pyongyang. He had to get screwed first by Rocket Man.

[trebb]

You ask a lot of questions you should know the answer to before faulting Trump even a little bit.