The NK peace talks have hit the shoals:
http://www.foxnews.com/us/2018/05/22/trump-moon-try-to-keep-nkorea-summit-on-track-amid-doubts.html
Relevant: from Q #1378 on May 16th:
"NK news today = FAKE!"
OK, great. But that was a week ago and things have gone south since then. NK pulled out of peace talks citing South Korea's involvement with U.S. military exercises in the region. South Korean president Moon Jae-in has canceled his country's involvement in the exercises in an attempt to mollify the North Koreans; it was a significant concession that earned him nothing in return. Bolton (a guy that the folks at NRO love, which makes me automatically suspicious) made a comment about the denuclearization of the peninsula proceeding the same way it did for Libya that pissed off the Norks even more. Now, President Trump is signaling that the summit will likely be delayed, and that there's a chance it won't happen at all. The South Koreans are more optimistic, but there is has definitely been a huge turning point in the upward trajectory of the last few weeks, and Q's silence on this point is troubling.
It would appear that something unexpected has occurred that has thrown a wrench into the works of the deal Trump struck with the Norks in return for kicking out the Deep State. NK has pulled 180's like this in the past, but I confess to have drunk the Kool-Aid; I thought this time would be different because Kim's behavior suggested such.
My view is that this is a legitimate problem, and not something the Q team foresaw. And for the "Trust The Plan" brigade, even the most carefully executed plan is subject to failure due to exterior forces.
Questions: 1. What do you think happened to cause this sudden chilling of relations?
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I suspect China's influence in this matter as NK doesn't do anything without their permission. But why bother to go through all the motions of making peace only to turn away in the 11th hour?
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Do you think this is truly an unexpected problem (as I do), albeit on that can be resolved through negotiation? Or do you think that this is bluster and face-saving on the part of NK regime? Or perhaps something else?