Kim Jong Un says he will give up nukes if the U.S. promises not to attack North Korea

  The sudden transformation of North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un in recent days has been remarkable to behold. It culminated on Friday when we watched the leaders of North and South Korea ceremoniously step into each other’s countries before Kim Jong Un was lead hand in hand by South Korean President Moon Jae-in into his country to talk peace.

  It is now being reported here that Kim Jong Un is willing to give up his nuclear weapons in return for the United States officially ending the Korean War and a promise not to attack North Korea.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un told his South Korean counterpart at their historic summit that his country would be willing to give up its nuclear weapons if the U.S. commits to a formal end to the Korean War and a pledge not to attack the North, Seoul officials said Sunday.

Kim also vowed during his meeting with South Korean President Moon Jae-in on Friday to shut down the North’s nuclear test site in May and disclose the process to experts and journalists from South Korea and the United States, Seoul’s presidential office said.

  That’s it? That’s all it will take? Why no mention of ending, or at least easing, the sanctions against North Korea? I remain cautiously optimistic yet somewhat skeptical of Kim Jong Un’s intentions, as does John Bolton.

 “Well, we’ve heard this before. This is – the North Korean propaganda playbook is an infinitely rich resource.”

“What we want to see from them is evidence that it’s real and not just rhetoric,” he added.

  But at the same time if you are going to negotiate an end to a nuclear North Korea you have to take it on good faith or the negotiations will go nowhere. Trust but verify…

  I do not know what is driving Kim Jong Un at this point: it could be that the tougher sanctions, which are actually being enforced for the first time, coupled with Donald Trump’s I have a bigger button than you and it works rhetoric has him realizing he is in a no-win situation, or he could have an ulterior motive. But I do know that for the first time in decades we appear to be on the right path in North Korea and I hope and pray that we are finally on the right path with North Korea.

malo periculosam libertatem quam quietum servitium