With Trump's Help, North Korea's Divide and Conquer Strategy is Working

[DonViejo]

Kim Jong Un believes the government in South Korea cares more about his proposals for a lasting peace on the peninsula than about his nukes.

DONALD KIRK
07.08.18 1:35 PM ET

SEOUL – Secretary of State Mike Pompeo’s disastrous mission to Pyongyang has left the U.S. grasping for leverage in its dealings with both North and South Korea.

The Americans now have to figure out how to deal with long-time allies who are talking about the need to “consult closely” with North Korea — not just with the U.S. as in the past. And it’s clear the North Koreans, yielding nothing to Pompeo, have deepened the wedge between Seoul and Washington. A ritualistic show of unity on Sunday between Pompeo and the foreign ministers of South Korea and Japan couldn’t disguise that.

After Pompeo's visit to Pyongyang, North Korea’s foreign ministry had pilloried the Americans for their “unilateral and gangster-like demand for denuclearization” and for “just calling for CVID,” which is to say complete, verifiable, irreversible denuclearization. (Interestingly, these are terms not previously mentioned in Kim’s media even though they've been repeated like a mantra by the U.S.)

Pyongyang accused the Trump administration of ignoring its calls for a “peace regime” and a “declaration on the end of the [Korean] war,” which are tempting goals for the government in Seoul.

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