We now have diplomats flying back and forth over the most heavily armed border (50 years running), and reports Clinton may be ready to go to cap his career.
Wouldn’t that carry a tremendous risk? Yes, Castro has ventured to the UN in New York, but that’s New York. Clinten has been the focus of their resentment for 8 years now, holding N.Korea back from being involved in world trade and affairs. What if he’s jumped and stabbed by a chef who lost his wife in the conflict?
I can’t see any reason to go, except to “match” Nixon, and we all know how little his China trip adds to his legacy.
Given the nature of North Korean society, I think Clinton’s more likely to be offed by a private citizen over here than over there. I’m sure the North Korean government’s security for their Distinguished Foreign Visitor From the Planet Earth will be as fanatical as everything else it does. Of course, that wouldn’t rule out the possibility that the government itself might seek to have Clinton whacked, but against that is the fact that we still have the capability to turn South Korean into an island, so I don’t think they’d try to pull any fast ones. Then again, this is a country whose President is a guy who’s been dead for six years, so you never know.
We probably should have somebody ask Clinton if he feels like playing a few hands of solitaire when he gets back, just to make sure there are no strange reactions…
Incidentally, I think the whole “only Nixon can go to China” thing is probably about the only thing which could conceivably add to Nixon’s legacy (“It’s true his own aides had to talk him out of firebombing the Brookings Institution, but he did establish peaceful relations with the Chinese”), so Clinton may well be thinking along the same lines.
Well, okay, I guess a suicidal American-hating North Korean elite security guard could actually get into position to kill Clinton. Still, given how tightly controlled North Korean society is, I really think he’s in less danger of assassination by going than he is by just staying here. It’s not like we don’t have loons in America, and quite a lot of dedicated Clinton-haters.
Perhaps there are “zealots” in North Korea, but what do you think are the chances that any “zealots” would be able to get their hands on a gun or explosives? This is North Korea we’re talking about! People there can’t even get their hands on a copy of the New York Times, much less a gun! I think that for President Clinton, North Korea is probably the safest place in the entire world.