President Trump open to talks between the United States and North Korea.

President Donald Trump. Reuters. 

President Donald Trump says he is open to talks with North Korea as tensions on the peninsula decrease. Reuters. Trump said talks could happen under the right circumstances. Tensions have been high with North Korea but have decreased due to talks between South Korea and North Korea, mainly over participation in the Olympics. North Korea has agreed to revive military links to avoid accidental conflict. Trump also said he is not considering any military strikes at this time, especially while talks between North and South are continuing. 

My Comment:

Looks like Donald Trump's and Kim Jong Un's saber rattling has paid off. These talks will likely reduce the tensions on the peninsula and will greatly reduce the risk of war, even if they don't result in much. Having the North and South talk is a good first step and one that we might be able to build on. 

Having North Korea participate in the Olympics is a good carrot to go along with the stick of threats. Not allowing North Korea to participate in the Olympics would be a huge loss of face for them, especially since it is being hosted in South Korea. Letting them do so will save them face and allow them to gain prestige by participating in the games, perhaps even bringing home some medals. 

South Korea is giving President Trump credit for allowing these talks to happen. That would sound insane if all you knew about Trump is what you see on twitter and what the mainstream media has told you. However, it has been fairly obvious that Trump has been trying to broker some kind of arrangement with the North Koreans to avoid war. 

The most obvious proof of this is the fact that Rex Tillerson has been working overtime on the Korea issue. Indeed, it seemed like there was a "good cop bad cop" thing going on. Trump would spout off on Twitter while Tillerson was working behind the scenes. Tillerson doesn't make much noise but he has been working hard. 

Still, we probably should temper our expectations. Right now the talks are not over important things. They are reducing tensions but the only real issues, North Korea's nuclear and missile programs, aren't going to be discussed. Those issues are the real sticking points and will be very difficult to fix. 

North Korea has some very good reasons to not give up their nuclear weapons and missile technology. For one to give them up now after pouring in so much money and prestige into them would be a huge blow. It would be a disaster internally and would make Kim Jong Un look like a fool unless he got quite a bit of concessions in exchange. 

North Korea also has to remember what happened to Libya. Qaddafi famously gave up his chemical weapons and ended his nuclear weapons program. He thought that would save him from invasion and being deposed. He was completely wrong, thanks to Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton. Seeing Qaddafi get raped to death by his own people was a wake up call for all dictators, including Kim Jong Un. He must know that even if Trump promises to leave him alone, there zero guarantee that will be the case when we get a new president. 

Still, despite the difficulties, it is encouraging that diplomacy is being tried. There was a real chance of war with North Korea. It wasn't a severe chance but as North Korea's weapons programs became more advanced it became more likely. With these talks between North and South, and the potential for talks between America and North Korea, war looks a lot less likely then it once did.