June 12, 2018
Kim Jong-un flies home to sell the deal to the North Korean ruling elite
By Thomas Lifson
It looks as though President Trump won over Kim Jong-un in Singapore, but now Kim has to sell the deal to the Pyongyang power elite. The stick of a threat of “fire and fury†(meaning the military destruction of the regime) and the carrot of wealth – like that of glittering Singapore, where Kim took the opportunity for sightseeing, including a lavish casino run the Sheldon Adelson’s Sands corporation -- certainly worked on the dictator.
At his press conference, President Trump mentioned that he had shown a video to Kim illustrating the wealth that could lie ahead for Kim and his regime with an opening to the world. He also showed off his limousine, known as The Beast, apparently impressing him with its massiveness. Kim Jong-un clearly loves the boy toys of modernity.
I have long believed that the fact that Kim spent his formative years in a Swiss boarding school was a huge opportunity, for the rest of the North Korean elite has no such exposure to the West. But in order for this deal to move forward and realize its potential, Kim is going to have to convince the rest of the Pyongyang power elite to go along, and risk destruction of their nuclear security blanket and some degree of openness to the international world, including intrusive inspection visits and trade. The people who command military and police units (some of whom have been replaced with KJU loyalists),those who control key state enterprises, and those who are able to supply bribes – luxury goods from the West, mainly, but also food – must go along, or else, as my colleague Rick Moran put it this morning, “Don't be surprised if Kim doesn’t wake up one morning.â€
June 12, 2018
Kim Jong-un flies home to sell the deal to the North Korean ruling elite
By Thomas Lifson
It looks as though President Trump won over Kim Jong-un in Singapore, but now Kim has to sell the deal to the Pyongyang power elite. The stick of a threat of “fire and fury†(meaning the military destruction of the regime) and the carrot of wealth – like that of glittering Singapore, where Kim took the opportunity for sightseeing, including a lavish casino run the Sheldon Adelson’s Sands corporation -- certainly worked on the dictator.
At his press conference, President Trump mentioned that he had shown a video to Kim illustrating the wealth that could lie ahead for Kim and his regime with an opening to the world. He also showed off his limousine, known as The Beast, apparently impressing him with its massiveness. Kim Jong-un clearly loves the boy toys of modernity.
I have long believed that the fact that Kim spent his formative years in a Swiss boarding school was a huge opportunity, for the rest of the North Korean elite has no such exposure to the West. But in order for this deal to move forward and realize its potential, Kim is going to have to convince the rest of the Pyongyang power elite to go along, and risk destruction of their nuclear security blanket and some degree of openness to the international world, including intrusive inspection visits and trade. The people who command military and police units (some of whom have been replaced with KJU loyalists),those who control key state enterprises, and those who are able to supply bribes – luxury goods from the West, mainly, but also food – must go along, or else, as my colleague Rick Moran put it this morning, “Don't be surprised if Kim doesn’t wake up one morning.â€
more
https://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2018/06/kim_jongun_flies_home_to_sell_the_deal_to_the_north_korean_ruling_elite.html
