Report: Kim Jong Un Flipping out as US calls his bluff

quote:

---

North Korea flipped out on the US on Tuesday with a series of statements bashing President Donald Trump's administration and actions seemingly out of nowhere - but it may be because the US called its bluff.

---

quote:

---

The US has always demanded North Korea denuclearize as a condition for normalizing relations and talking openly. The comment Trump's national security adviser, John Bolton, made about Libya that seemed to set off North Korea happened weeks ago. The specific military drill North Korea threatened to cancel its meeting with Trump over had already been going on for days, and before that two other massive drills had taken place in April and May with hardly a peep from Pyongyang. In past months, Kim, who reportedly said he "understands" why the drills were going on, had gone forward with peace talks without asking for them to be toned down.

---

quote:

---

But there is a possible motivation for North Korea's public about-face: The US reportedly demanded swift action on denuclearization, and North Korea may be bluffing. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo offered to take North Korea off the US's list of state sponsors of terror if it would ship some of its missiles and nuclear warheads overseas within six months, Japan's Asahi newspaper reported. Asahi's report follows Bolton suggesting North Korean nukes go to a nuclear facility in Oakridge, Tennessee, and South Korean media reporting that Pompeo asked Kim to send five nuclear devices to France to be dismantled.

---

quote:

---

For the US, asking to get its hands on North Korean nukes before the summit either proves Kim is for real or calls his bluff. Until now, North Korea has offered only reversible denuclearization steps, like destroying a test site it could simply fix later.

---