Analysts: Trump Administration Lacks Experts Needed for North Korea Talks

[muriel_volestrangler]

Aaron David Miller, a senior analyst at the Wilson Center, has advised a number of Republican and Democratic secretaries of state.

Miller told VOA he believes if this recent offer of direct talks does represent a transformative change in North Korean leader Kim Jong Un’s position, then it is too valuable an opportunity to waste, and the U.S. should test it — first through discreet dialogue before any structured negotiations take place.

Asked who in the Trump administration could prepare and conduct sensitive, complicated and grueling direct talks with North Korea, Miller drew a blank.
...
He added: “In this republic, you might have to reach for people who have had experience and who are part of another administration. This administration may not be willing to do that.”

https://www.voanews.com/a/analysts-trump-administration-lacks-expertise-north-korea-talks/4285471.html

And that's Voice of America! The Canadian Press:

What could go wrong? Pitfalls pose risks in Trump, Kim talks

But Suzanne DiMaggio, who helped facilitate the first official discussions between the Trump administration and North Korean government representatives in Oslo last year, said she is concerned the apparent lack of lower-level groundwork that usually paves the way for summits could cause big problems.
...
"Engaging an adversary with whom we've had scant communications over many years presents especially difficult challenges," she warned. "A hollowed-out State Department only amplifies the magnitude of the challenges. This, combined with President Trump's infamous penchant for going off script and his admiration of authoritarian types, could weaken our negotiating position."

The summit announcement comes as the U.S. still has no ambassador in South Korea. Joseph Yun, the U.S. special representative for North Korea and one of America's most experienced North Korea experts, recently retired.

Adam Mount, a senior fellow and director of the Defence Posture Project of the Federation of American Scientists, said North Korea could put a reasonable deal on the table that Trump feels unable to accept. That could lead other regional players — and particularly China — to decide that Pyongyang is not the problem.

http://www.ngnews.ca/news/what-could-go-wrong-pitfalls-pose-risks-in-trump-kim-talks-192154/

[dalton99a]

1. Donald Trump is THE expert on North Korea

[RKP5637]

3. The smartest person in the world, so he tells us. The stable genius. n/t

[MFM008]

2. He thinks he can do it

ALL.