North Korea: The Most Predictable Regime on Earth?

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My NYT comment on this article. 

Daniel

 Wallingford, CT 47 minutes ago

From various documentaries to stories from journalists who have been given access to North Korea since 2008, the script has been the same. "Visitors" are given a tour of the country designed to make North Korea look prosperous, Anti-American propaganda fills the streets, and government minders follow journalists at every turn. A great example is this 2011 Vice News Documentary: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=24R8JObNNQ4

The point is, North Korea never seems to change. The unimaginable repression. The anti-American rhetoric. Threats of war. The malnourished, isolated, and information poor populace.

President Trump is the only wild card in this equation, a joker that risks a dangerous war with the most predictable regime on the planet.

I am dismayed that Mr. Kristof is sounding the drums of war based on his "feelings" regarding the first visit he's had to North Korea since 2005. President Trump has already jeopardized a stable situation. No need to legitimize his talk of war further but claiming that it is inevitable.

Certainly, it's ok to feel "discomforted" after a visit to the most repressive regime on earth. But is war is the only likely outcome here when deterrence has worked for over 50 years?

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