The Korean War of the 1950’s saw North Korea, China and Russia against ‘everyone else’, it was the Communists vs the Nationalists. The unit strength of the Communists dwarfed that of the Nationalists, military casualties vary from half a million to about 1 million with wounded well over 1.5 million. Civilian deaths were over 2.5 million. It was brutal. What did it serve? It was a border war that ultimately gave South Korea freedom from the totalitarian rule that Kim Jong now covets.
Contrary to some mainstream reports that would have us believe that Kim Jong Un is an intellectual commander, he is more of a psychological narcissist . More like a caricature from a James Bond movie, his education was rather a bleak barnacle… “having thousands of pounds lavished on his education at a top private school in Switzerland, he didn’t leave with even the equivalent of a single GCSE. When he was just 15 his father took him out of the costly International School Of Berne, where fees now run around £16,000 a year. He moved him to a nearby state school to save money but he was quickly put in the lower tier in class.”
You see, Kim Jong Un wasn’t interested in war or being a leader, instead from a young age he was obsessed with Hollywood and preferred watching endless movies, pretending to act in a variety of roles for his classmates… while failing his classes. He left the Liebefeld-Steinholzi School near Berne without securing ANY exam results at all. His preference? Football, basketball – and porn.
Today the media is still weighted on Russia when the threat is North Korea. North Korea does not have the capacity to wreak worldly damage, but if it forced the hand of China, we would be in dire straits. Russia is no longer communist Soviet Union, and would most likely become an ally of the US as it has in every other war except the Korean War.
Right now the US is attempting to engage Russia’s help in defusing North Korea. The mindset that is important is “pride”. It is not about whether Pride is right or wrong, but how to deal with it in avoiding war. As long as the US makes threats, those threats have to be countered or Kim will appear weak to his people and lose the respect and fear that dominates his power if he doesn’t counter those threats. He is thus forced to respond with greater threats in order to maintain his ‘face’.
Sanctions too have proven to a worthless threat and serve only to enrage, not to diffuse.
Psychology tells us exactly how to act and react when confronted by a narcissist; listen, offer praise, and diffuse defensiveness. When attempting to create a diplomatic agreement; set boundaries thru compliments, focus on solutions, don’t threaten or challenge, and show them their benefit in the action.
While we are all narcissists by birth, we are not all narcissistic by disorder. Still, whether we are fighting a war, diffusing a war, or working on our own personal issues, these guidelines can be hugely beneficial (I personally stand convicted).
In the realm of North Korea, Putin and Xi seem to understand this delicate balance in dealing with Kim Jong Un, and I think that while the US wants to appear strong, sometimes strength is more visible in detante.
Dumb to threaten so much. One analysis (zerohedge.com I think) of the history of N Korea seems to show that South Korea tried working out certain deals (Kim Jong Un even agreed to businesses hiring North Koreans in zones north of the border), but it was the United States that would then engage in “exercises” with the South Koreans.