April 18, 2024
Columns

Deft diplomat: How Kim Jong Un tried to remake his international image

Seduce Seoul. Tempt Trump. Square China. Kim did it all, at Chollima speed

This article is the third in a series, trying to make sense of where we’re at with North Korea right now and what is really going on. Ambitious or what? Fools rush in, as the song says.

Each article is self-contained, but reading the earlier ones first may help to follow the overall thread. I began, as one must, with Kim Jong Un – and how he began. He’s a man with a plan, in three stages, but many of us missed that. The world misunderestimated Kim at every turn.

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