Free Republic

WASHINGTON: Ousted National Security Advisor John Bolton said Kim Jong Un “will never give up” nuclear weapons voluntarily — an implicit warning to his former boss. Bolton was restating a consensus view of the Intelligence Community, one that runs counter to President Trump’s faith that the North Korean dynast can be wheedled and cajoled. Speaking at the Center for Strategic and International Studies today, Bolton attracted a forest of TV cameras hoping for some fireworks. They probably thought they were getting something hot when Bolton made his comment about North Korea but, as Breaking D readers know, the Intelligence Community’s...

THE PRESIDENT: Okay, thank you very much. We have a very special group of people with us today. These are escapees from North Korea. There have been many of them over the last year, and there seems to be more and more. It’s a tough place to live, and people aren’t liking it. There’s great danger, great risk. Seong-ho was with us the other night at the State of the Union Address, and really made an incredible impression on me and on everybody else, both on television and in that magnificent room. And I had an opportunity to meet with...

Washington’s decision to drop Victor Cha as its next US ambassador to South Korea was not due to his disagreement with the Trump administration’s consideration of a limited strike on North Korea, a diplomatic source said Friday. “As far as I know, the reason Victor Cha was withdrawn was not his differing views on North Korea policy,” the source said, asking to remain anonymous due to the sensitivity of the matter. “I believe there were many other factors. It is extremely difficult to give a detailed answer on what other factors were,” he said. He refused to discuss his source...

Trump administration drops Victor Cha as pick for South Korea envoy 'over bloody nose strike concerns' Reuters News Agency 30 JANUARY 2018 • 11:49PM Victor Cha, who is reportedly no longer being considered by the Trump's administration' to be the next US ambassador to South Korea, has said a "bloody nose" strike against Pyongyang carried a huge risk to Americans. Mr Cha, a former White House official, had raised concerns with National Security Council officials over their consideration of a limited strike on North Korea and about the administration’s threats to tear up a bilateral trade deal with Seoul, the...