What has got to make the .mil and .gov folks in the US and ROK a little concerned (as compared to past incidents of DPRK provocations) is that all this is happening in the midst of a power succession. Who is really calling the shots? Was this Kim, Kim Jr., military brass?
One of the primary ways to keep a lid on potentially escalating situations like this is to keep lines of communication open. But what if you don’t know who you are communicating with or if who you are communicating with isn’t in control anymore?
” But what if you don’t know who you are communicating with or if who you are communicating with isn’t in control anymore? “
Which is complicated by the fact that Lee’s Government is on really shaky ground (per TLR’s assessment this morning, earlier in this thread), and we have an Empty Suit ‘answering the phone’ over here....
Is ‘communication’ really possible at all???