MOSCOW – While Donald Trump is signaling readiness to negotiate with NorthKorea, he does not seem willing to hold talks with Iran on its nucleardeal. Speaking to Sputnik, foreign affairs analyst Rakesh Krishnan opinedthat what lies behind the difference in the US attitude toward Tehran andPyongyang is that the latter has nukes.
None of the Western mainstream media outlets are giving Donald Trump creditfor getting North and South Korea to come together and shake hands, RakeshKrishnan, a New Zealand-based journalist and foreign affairs analyst whowrites on defense and warfare for international magazines, told Sputnik.
“Unlike past American presidents such as Barack Obama who were the WesternMSM’s darlings despite doing absolutely nothing for peace and in fact doingeverything to create more wars, President Donald Trump has achieved amiracle,” the journalist pointed out. “Being a hard-nosed businessman, heknows that talking any day is better than firing missiles. Each time KimJong-un fires an ICBM, the only thing that rises is the stock of weaponsmanufacturers.”
Krishnan referred to a 1999 interviewlink> in which the would-bepresident discussed the North Korea issue with American televisionjournalist and lawyer Tim Russert. Trump noted that he would have launcheda preemptive strike against North Korea’s nuclear capability, but that hewould have held talks first. Clarifying his point the then businessmanadded: “If they think you are serious, they’ll negotiate and it will nevercome to that [a preemptive strike].”
“The amazing thing is his [Trump’s] consistency. He’s walking the talk,”the journalist remarked.
He emphasized that the best outcome of the talks between Pyongyang andSeoul as well as the expected negotiations between Trump and Kim Jong-unwould be if the North and South could become unified once again.
However, “that would take decades of development of the impoverished Northand South Korea will have to pump in trillions to bring the North to thesame OECD [the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development]levels as the South,” the analyst believes.
“Once this is accomplished there can be de-nuclearization as happenedin South Africa in the 1990s,” he added.
According to Krishnan, “Trump should initiate the process of reunification”which would certainly be “bad news for the arms lobbieslink>everywhereso they will try and derail the chances of reunification.”
*Saddam, Gaddafi Were Ousted Because They Had No Nukes*
The journalist recalled General K. Sundarji, the former Indian Army chief,who once said: “Never negotiate with the United States without havingnuclear weapons.”
“The reason [Iraqi President] Saddam Hussein and [Libyan leader] MuammarGaddafi got knocked out was because they had no nukes,” Krishnan presumed.”General K. Sundarji had Saddam in mind when he said you should notnegotiate with the US if you do not have nuclear weapons. The North Koreanmissiles are the only reason why the US has not flattened Pyongyanginto the Stone Age. Kim knows this.”
With Pyongyang’s nuclear program continuinglink>,North Korea is currently the only country targeting the US with nukesfor the first time since the end of the Cold War, the analyst highlighted.
“As a superpower that is a rather uncomfortable position to be in,”Krishnan stressed. “So Trump wants to de-escalate the situation to lowerthe geopolitical temperature; improve global economic confidence; remove athorn that hurts US pride; raise his own stock as a leader.”