# North Korea suspending missile testing and closing nuclear site; Trump the statesman? **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [April 20, 2018, 11:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/north-korea-suspending-missile-testing-and-closing-nuclear-site-trump-the-statesman/812829 "2018-04-20T23:09:28Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 16
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2018, 2:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/north-korea-suspending-missile-testing-and-closing-nuclear-site-trump-the-statesman/812829/301 "2018-05-23T02:01:13Z")
Oh, I don’t know that he has ever even _been_ to Mississippi! ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2018, 2:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/north-korea-suspending-missile-testing-and-closing-nuclear-site-trump-the-statesman/812829/302 "2018-05-24T02:38:00Z")
[North Korea calls Mike Pence a “political dummy”, then threatens a nuclear showdown.](https://www.cnn.com/2018/05/23/politics/mike-pence-north-korea-intl/index.html) Yeah, this is going to be a triumph of statesmanship. ---
**Author:** ![Horatius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/horatius/32/3572_2.png) [@Horatius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatius)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2018, 3:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/north-korea-suspending-missile-testing-and-closing-nuclear-site-trump-the-statesman/812829/303 "2018-05-24T03:04:09Z")
> [@Fear\_Itself](#): > > [North Korea calls Mike Pence a “political dummy”, then threatens a nuclear showdown.](https://www.cnn.com/2018/05/23/politics/mike-pence-north-korea-intl/index.html) > > Yeah, this is going to be a triumph of statesmanship. > [@](#): > > North Korea has long cited Libya’s case as the reason it needs nuclear weapons. Less than a decade after Moammar Gadhafi agreed to abandon its nuclear aspirations in a deal with the United States, he was ousted from power and killed with the help of NATO-backed forces. > > Choe called Pence a “political dummy” for comparing Libya to North Korea. She said that Libya’s nuclear program was in its early stages when it came to the negotiating table, while North Korea has spent years developing its nuclear weapons. It’s annoyed me for quite some time how so many people dismiss NK’s attempts to get nuclear weapons as being “crazy” or “stupid”. I’ve said for years that it makes perfect sense. As they said above, they’ve seen for years what happens to unpleasant countries that _don’t_ have nukes, and they don’t want that to happen to them. If you think you’re likely to end up the cross hairs of the US military, it’d be stupid _not_ to try to build a few nukes. There’s a reason the US lets Pakistan get away with so much crap, and it’s not because Americans like Pakistanis. ---
**Author:** ![voltaire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voltaire/32/313_2.png) [@voltaire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/voltaire)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2018, 3:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/north-korea-suspending-missile-testing-and-closing-nuclear-site-trump-the-statesman/812829/304 "2018-05-24T03:14:31Z")
Americans like _Pakistanis_ fine enough, AFAICT. The government/military/intelligence of Pakistan maybe not so much. ---
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2018, 1:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/north-korea-suspending-missile-testing-and-closing-nuclear-site-trump-the-statesman/812829/305 "2018-05-24T13:56:53Z")
Summit canceled, according to the news. Winning! ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2018, 1:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/north-korea-suspending-missile-testing-and-closing-nuclear-site-trump-the-statesman/812829/306 "2018-05-24T13:58:08Z")
> [@Fear\_Itself](#): > > [North Korea calls Mike Pence a “political dummy”, then threatens a nuclear showdown.](https://www.cnn.com/2018/05/23/politics/mike-pence-north-korea-intl/index.html) Hard to argue with them about Pence. ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2018, 2:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/north-korea-suspending-missile-testing-and-closing-nuclear-site-trump-the-statesman/812829/307 "2018-05-24T14:01:04Z")
> [@voltaire](#): > > Americans like _Pakistanis_ fine enough, AFAICT. The government/military/intelligence of Pakistan maybe not so much. Same was true of Iraq before we invaded. ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2018, 2:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/north-korea-suspending-missile-testing-and-closing-nuclear-site-trump-the-statesman/812829/308 "2018-05-24T14:05:30Z")
> [@iiandyiiii](#): > > Summit canceled, according to the news. > > Winning! It’s like this entire administration is a Violent Torpedo of Truth tour, isn’t it? ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2018, 2:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/north-korea-suspending-missile-testing-and-closing-nuclear-site-trump-the-statesman/812829/309 "2018-05-24T14:15:21Z")
> [@iiandyiiii](#): > > Summit canceled, according to the news. > > Winning! Are you bored of all this winning yet? ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2018, 2:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/north-korea-suspending-missile-testing-and-closing-nuclear-site-trump-the-statesman/812829/310 "2018-05-24T14:17:57Z")
> [@ElvisL1ves](#): > > It’s like this entire administration is a Violent Torpedo of Truth tour, isn’t it? Having lived through the presidencies of Nixon, Reagan, and Shrubby, whatever their manifold failings were, they had _mostly_ competent people around them. Their Administrations had particular (and often fairly sizable) areas of incompetence and/or malevolence, but for the most part, their people kept the government and the country running down normal channels. With Trump, pretty much _everyone_ in a position of authority is incompetent, malevolent, or both. (Trump himself is both, of course.) This entire Administration is off the rails in ways far beyond what anybody alive has previously experienced in this country. ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2018, 2:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/north-korea-suspending-missile-testing-and-closing-nuclear-site-trump-the-statesman/812829/311 "2018-05-24T14:18:57Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > Are you bored of all this winning yet? So bored of it, I need him to retire immediately to give me a respite from all the winning. ---
**Author:** ![Try2B\_Comprehensive](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/try2b_comprehensive/32/65_2.png) [@Try2B\_Comprehensive](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Try2B_Comprehensive)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2018, 2:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/north-korea-suspending-missile-testing-and-closing-nuclear-site-trump-the-statesman/812829/312 "2018-05-24T14:21:31Z")
Tired… So sleepy… zzzzz… Wait! There has Got to be a way to segue this discussion to Hillary’s emails! Boy, that Clinton Foundation, what a fiasco eh? ---
**Author:** ![Budget\_Player\_Cadet](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/budget_player_cadet/32/205_2.png) [@Budget\_Player\_Cadet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Budget_Player_Cadet)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2018, 2:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/north-korea-suspending-missile-testing-and-closing-nuclear-site-trump-the-statesman/812829/313 "2018-05-24T14:24:40Z")
Well, I mean, we should be fair - if the most incompetent administration in history had managed to pull off a diplomatic coup that had evaded the US for a few decades, it would certainly be worth praising! And if Trump invented a flying pig… ---
**Author:** ![Crybaby\_Boobie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crybaby_boobie/32/545_2.png) [@Crybaby\_Boobie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crybaby_Boobie)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2018, 2:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/north-korea-suspending-missile-testing-and-closing-nuclear-site-trump-the-statesman/812829/314 "2018-05-24T14:25:19Z")
It’s amazing how often this administration can take a bad idea, suddenly realize it, and then back away from it in the most stupid way possible. ---
**Author:** ![Morgenstern](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Morgenstern](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morgenstern)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2018, 2:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/north-korea-suspending-missile-testing-and-closing-nuclear-site-trump-the-statesman/812829/315 "2018-05-24T14:32:19Z")
> [@RTFirefly](#): > > Hard to argue with them about Pence. I have to agree, this is correct, as was dotard when aimed at trump. Those NK dudes are pretty clever. ---
**Author:** ![Steve\_MB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steve_mb/32/5339_2.png) [@Steve\_MB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steve_MB)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2018, 2:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/north-korea-suspending-missile-testing-and-closing-nuclear-site-trump-the-statesman/812829/316 "2018-05-24T14:38:03Z")
> [@iiandyiiii](#): > > Summit canceled, according to the news. > > Winning! Cadet Bone Spurs gets Kim Jong Owned. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Stainless\_Steel\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_stainless_steel_rat/32/5727_2.png) [@The\_Stainless\_Steel\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Stainless_Steel_Rat)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2018, 2:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/north-korea-suspending-missile-testing-and-closing-nuclear-site-trump-the-statesman/812829/317 "2018-05-24T14:39:15Z")
As I said in the Pit just now, does this really _ **surprise** _ anyone, no matter what side of the political spectrum you are on? I mean, better politicians and statesmen than Pompepo (and Tillerman before him) have tried to arrange things between the U.S. and N. Korea, with no discernable success, and given President Trumps…less than deft handling of international diplomacy plus his short fuse, this was a longshot from the first. It is, IMHO, a bad look for the US to be cancelling it, making us look, no matter what we say, as the folks who are against peace in that part of the world. It’ll be interesting to see the South Korean take on our canceling something they had worked on and put a fair amount of effort into. So, back to the status quo; until something else comes along in the region. And in answer to the OP; Not looking good on the statesman part right now… Actual source: [https://www.cnn.com/2018/05/24/politics/trump-north-korea/index.html](https://www.cnn.com/2018/05/24/politics/trump-north-korea/index.html) ---
**Author:** ![Grrr](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grrr/32/146_2.png) [@Grrr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grrr)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2018, 2:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/north-korea-suspending-missile-testing-and-closing-nuclear-site-trump-the-statesman/812829/318 "2018-05-24T14:43:26Z")
> [@Crybaby\_Boobie](#): > > It’s amazing how often this administration can take a bad idea, suddenly realize it, and then back away from it in the most stupid way possible. I disagree. Trump painted himself into a corner. If this meeting did take place, there is no way in hell Trump would have come out looking like a winner. Because let’s face it, Kim ain’t gonna de-nuke shit. And all this summit would have done is give Kim legitimacy on the world stage. So now, Trump canceled before Kim had the chance to. So point goes to Trump between these two stupid fuckers. ---
**Author:** ![Budget\_Player\_Cadet](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/budget_player_cadet/32/205_2.png) [@Budget\_Player\_Cadet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Budget_Player_Cadet)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2018, 2:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/north-korea-suspending-missile-testing-and-closing-nuclear-site-trump-the-statesman/812829/319 "2018-05-24T14:47:15Z")
> [@Grrr](#): > > I disagree. Trump painted himself into a corner. If this meeting did take place, there is no way in hell Trump would have come out looking like a winner. Because let’s face it, Kim ain’t gonna de-nuke shit. And all this summit would have done is give Kim legitimacy on the world stage. > > So now, Trump canceled before Kim had the chance to. So point goes to Trump between these two stupid fuckers. True, but if that’s the case, _why have the meeting in the first place?_ (Also, ooh, post 15k!) ---
**Author:** ![Lance\_Turbo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lance_turbo/32/6156_2.png) [@Lance\_Turbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lance_Turbo)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2018, 2:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/north-korea-suspending-missile-testing-and-closing-nuclear-site-trump-the-statesman/812829/320 "2018-05-24T14:52:40Z")
Former National Security Council spokesperson Tommy Vietor sums it up pretty well with [this Tweet](https://twitter.com/TVietor08/status/999652720033353728)… > [@](#): > > This North Korea fiasco shows how much Trump gets graded on a curve. He accomplished nothing. The process was obviously flawed. But pundits rushed to prematurely praise him to balance out all the well-deserved criticism that came before. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/north-korea-suspending-missile-testing-and-closing-nuclear-site-trump-the-statesman/812829.md?page=15) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/north-korea-suspending-missile-testing-and-closing-nuclear-site-trump-the-statesman/812829.md?page=17)