North Korea and US 'in Direct Contact', says Tillerson

Rejoice ! , common sense would seem to have prevailed as Rex Tillerson has said while on his visit to China that the US are in in direct contact with North Korea and are looking to instigate dialog with the leadership , WW3 may have just been postponed or hopefully averted.

The US is in "direct contact" with North Korea, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson has said. Mr Tillerson said Washington was "probing" the possibility of talks with Pyongyang, "so stay tuned". "We have lines of communications to Pyongyang," he said during a trip to China. "We're not in a dark situation."
www.bbc.co.uk...

This flys in the face of what President Trump said last month about talking not being the answer but hey , we're getting used to that.

Needless to say I think it's the right move but have no doubts others will disagree , jaw jaw has to be better than war war.

As long as they're talking people aren't dying in a war.

Anything outside of diplomacy ends in unimaginable catastrophe.

imo

a reply to: gortex

Won't be any 'talking' . Talking occurs between two equal parties.

The 'Talks' are just cover for Ultimatums, threats and intimidation.

Like the US does all the time with other countries;

First drag their economy in the dirt with sanctions, demonize them in the World Press, surround them militarily with bases and aircraft carriers, then say, Wanna Talk"?

a reply to: gortex

Obvious now that the anti-Trumpers will be for an all-out war now since Trump may be trying to avert it.

a reply to: intrptr

Threats and intimidation have been used and haven't worked so I doubt that is the agenda , Tillerson knows where this was all heading so has likely opted to bite the bullet and and try another path , Kim is going to develop his missiles and nuclear capability regardless of what the US say so talking is the only option open , it may not go anywhere but it will give Kim an opportunity to get out looking like the winner.

Any deescalation has to be good news.

originally posted by: DBCowboy
a reply to: gortex

Obvious now that the anti-Trumpers ill be for an all-out war now since Trump may be trying to avert it.

Trump isn't trying to avert it , the grown ups are.

a reply to: DBCowboy
Actually no we won't. In this case all the anti-trumpers were for this course of action. It was all the Trumpers calling for war and now they will flip and say Trump is a genius.

I hope so...... although...

“First comes smiles, then lies. Last is gunfire.-Roland Deschain, of Gilead”


― Stephen King, The Gunslinger

originally posted by: DBCowboy
a reply to: gortex

Obvious now that the anti-Trumpers ill be for an all-out war now since Trump may be trying to avert it.

I don't think Trump is for negotiations, A nice war might make Trumps "hands" swell up.....Tillerson might just follow Price out the door....and comey, Bannon, Priebus, Spicer

We should have an ATS pool on who's next on the "you're fired" tableau....

originally posted by: DBCowboy
a reply to: gortex

Obvious now that the anti-Trumpers ill be for an all-out war now since Trump may be trying to avert it.

You can almost predict the spin now "Trump weakens stance on North Korea" "Does the president secretly want the US to be attacked?"

a reply to: gortex

Threats and intimidation have been used and haven't worked so I doubt that is the agenda

That is always the agenda when it comes to US foreign policy, especially with Korea, at this stage. Either US way or be destroyed.

a reply to: ausername

Who wouldn't want war averted?

I understand the urge to avoid the cost of actually rectifying the problem, rectifying the problem being a nuclear weapons free North Korea, but one of the reasons the cost is so high now is that we weren't willing to pay a lower price earlier, a price we considered too high to pay in those past times.

The cost is going to continue to go up.

I say now is the time to rectify the situation once and for all. Keep the pressure on the little maniac up until he either capitulates or launches. He's not less likely to launch with more and better weapons and he isn't going to be more likely to compromise with more and better weapons.

Time to fix this mess.

originally posted by: DBCowboy
a reply to: ausername

Who wouldn't want war averted?

Excellent question!

The answer is far too complicated for me to explain. In short I have no idea.

originally posted by: ausername

originally posted by: DBCowboy
a reply to: gortex

Obvious now that the anti-Trumpers ill be for an all-out war now since Trump may be trying to avert it.

You can almost predict the spin now "Trump weakens stance on North Korea" "Does the president secretly want the US to be attacked?"

Spin being the key word. Spinning is a method that is used vehemently by both sides.
I personally don't know who to believe anymore.
I know I sure don't want war. Most people don't.

a reply to: intrptr

Either US way or be destroyed.

Which is why so far nothing has changed , it's a hollow threat in this case unless Kim engages in a hostile action against the US he is safe , neither South Korea or China will sanction a preemptive strike so the Presidents hands are tied.

Kim has strong armor here , the death of tens if not hundreds of thousands of an allies population would be guaranteed should America attack.

It would be nice if war could be averted, but given that North Korea just moved some missiles in preparation for a launch, I suspect the "talks" were just show:

Several North Korean missiles were recently spotted moved from a rocket facility in the capital Pyongyang, South Korea’s Korean Broadcasting System (KBS) reported late Friday amid speculation that the North was preparing to take more provocative actions.

The report cited an unnamed intelligence source saying South Korean and U.S. intelligence officials detected missiles being transported away from North Korea’s Missile Research and Development Facility at Sanum-dong in the northern part of Pyongyang.

and, further down in this report:

South Korean official have voiced concerns that North Korea could conduct more provocative acts near the anniversary of the founding of its communist party on Oct. 10, or possibly when China holds its Communist Party Congress on Oct. 18.

Source

Didn't a North Korean diplomat hold a meeting in Moscow the other day? And now this? Ask yourself this question: Who would gain more from having an all-out war- the US and its allies in the Korean Peninsula or Russia & China?

Russia and China would stand to lose big time if there was NO war because the US would still have a tremendous influence (and presence) in the region. If there is war, then Russia & China would both get to kick our butts, so to speak. China especially isn't thrilled about THAAD being on its doorstep. Russia can't be happy about it either.

Imho war is coming, what we're seeing here with "talks" is just a show.

But that's the pessimist in me talking.

Although many things have changed, the ultimate dilemmas remain...



In 1969....

On April 15, 1969, North Korean MiG fighter planes shot down an American EC-121 spy plane flying off the coast of the Korean Peninsula (but still over international waters), killing all 31 crew members.

What was the thinking back then?...

Any attack that didn’t obliterate North Korea’s military power would almost certainly spark a retaliatory attack against South Korea, Japan, and American forces in the region. Yet it would be very difficult, if not impossible, to obliterate North Korea’s military assets. If such an attack were attempted, it would be so large—probably involving nuclear weapons—that China or Russia might be drawn into the war; or even if they weren’t, the moral and political blowback against the United States would be enormous.

www.slate.com...

Same old stuff, new day?

Recommend reading that entire article with an open mind.

If Trump and Kim actually sat down and talked, they'd leave the table as buddies. That's the way business works. You come in seeking the upper hand but in the end, you do what's good for the shareholders. With Trump as president, we the citizens are the shareholders. Get used to it. It isn't politics as usual. It's much better.

originally posted by: gortex
Rejoice ! ,

Not really, more like kicking the can down the road.
Meanwhile, NK has more time to develop and build...and the people suffer cruelty and propaganda.

I think the only thing that needs airing is some sniper fire at the entire enterprise by chinese agents deciding to kennel their experiment.