Bill Clinton said his "peace deal" with North Korea would mean a safer United States and that North Korea would completely disarm. That was a lie. Not only was it a lie, his administration transferred much of the technology that the Nork's are using in their guidance systems to China, NK's primary and largest trading partner as well as benefactor.
G.W. Bush said North Korea would never obtain a nuclear weapon, yet did precious little to stop them beyond weak sanctions.
Barack Obama mirrored the Clinton "peace deal" during his administration and claimed the Nork's would disarm and never get a nuclear weapon. Clearly that was a lie too!
So here we are with a Donald J. Trump Presidency and finally we have a President that's standing up to the North Korean bully. Truth be told, anyone who's read the history of the Korean peninsula post WW2 knows there is far more at stake for China than for the United States. The last thing China wants is a North Korea/United States war on its own border. That would mean MILLIONS of refugees flooding its own border, something which China cannot handle.
It would also mean a defeated North Korea turned into occupied US Territory and another ally in Asia on China's own doorstep. They're deathly afraid of losing North Korea to the United States because it would increase our presence and directly challenge them militarily in their own back yard.
The Chinese have lost control of their puppet Kim Jong-un. They cannot or will not reign him back in. I suspect they cannot AND will not because it would mean they have to rebuild North Korea and assume care for millions more when they cannot care for their own people.
It is China that's between a rock and a hard space here, not the United States. North Korea is an out of control puppet. None of this ends well for China no matter how I look at it, again with an understanding of the Korean peninsula post WW2.
It's time to call North Korea and China's bluff, President Trump. That's exactly what he's doing.
tl;dr
:P
LOL
This isn’t 1960. How is China unable to care for it’s own people? They make hundreds of billions/year in foreign currency earnings, and have as ONE if their assets over $1 trillion of US bonds. Unfortunately, that statement undercuts the credibility of rest of your post (with which I largely agree, BTW).
I don’t think that they have **completely** lost control of Kim, though. First, they can cut off his trade and any further flow if technology, to get his attention...and then remind him where his bread is buttered. Or, in the final analysis, they can have him killed and install someone more rational. JMHO. The ball is in their court.
I agree 100% that the last 3 idiot occupants if 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. are to blame for this whole thing... especially the last guy (who wasn’t really an idiot, but a 5th columnist. I wouldn’t be surprised if Kim wasn’t feeling slighted or insulted that the camel jockeys got $150 billion for rattling around their nuclear program, while he’s only gotten a few $billion her or their. This whole thing could be Kim saying, “Hey! What do I look like, chopped liver? I’ve got nukes and tickets, too!”