WHITE HOUSE DOWN THE TUBES
White House Appears to Confuse North and South Korea
The White House was caught off guard and by surprise Tuesday when the official North Korean state news agency announced that talks scheduled for next month between President Donald Trump and Kim Jong-un would be canceled if the U.S. did not pull out of military exercises with South Korea.
.@StateDept completely blindsided by #NorthKorea sudden threat to cancel summit because of planned U.S./South Korea military exercises which the North said all along they knew would take place
— Andrea Mitchell (@mitchellreports) May 15, 2018
President Trump for months has been praising the North Korean dictator after he proposed a face-to-face meeting with the U.S. president. Not only has Trump been praising him, he literally acted as Kim’s Minister of Propaganda, tweeting out remarks the 34-year old Supreme Leader of North Korea had made.
But Tuesday’s announcement threw the White House for a loop.
Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders issued a quick statement in response.
“We are aware of the South Korean media report,” Huckabee Sanders said. “The United States will look at what North Korea has said independently, and continue to coordinate closely with our allies.”
The problem, as CNN Chief National Security Correspondent Jim Sciutto and others noted, is that the report came from North Korea, not South Korea.
The Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) is the official state media outlet for North Korea. Yonhap is South Korea’s news agency.
In fact, this is not a “South Korean media report”. Statement came from North Korean state media, KCNA, which speaks for Pyongyang. https://t.co/c0ThtZpFqA
— Jim Sciutto (@jimsciutto) May 15, 2018
Later, an English language version was released by KCNA.
It reads, in part, that South Korea and the U.S. are “reacting to all the peace-loving efforts and good intentions which DPRK has shown with rude and wicked provocation.”
The official English report from KCNA is out: pic.twitter.com/4Qyq9Zvsa6
— Martyn Williams (@martyn_williams) May 15, 2018
Sciutto also makes this observation:
Remember: #NorthKorea is expert at brinksmanship. Is Pyongyang testing Trump? Seeking a concession? Madman theory cuts both ways. https://t.co/c0ThtZpFqA
— Jim Sciutto (@jimsciutto) May 15, 2018
As one political writer noted, Kim is playing Trump “like a fiddle.”
North Korea’s Kim Jong Un is playing Donald Trump like a fiddle.
— Leah McElrath (@leahmcelrath) May 15, 2018
More:
Trump has repeatedly signaled that he is jonesing for a deal with North Korea, and for that to happen, the summit with Kim Jong-un has to happen. That gives Kim an opportunity to hold the summit at risk for leverage. https://t.co/e312jgt244
— Colin Kahl (@ColinKahl) May 15, 2018
Kim seeks to use the leverage Trump has given him. Somewhere Bolton is smiling. https://t.co/XTBPUyjtTC
— Jon B. "Globalist" Wolfsthal (@JBWolfsthal) May 15, 2018
Enjoy this piece?
… then let us make a small request. The New Civil Rights Movement depends on readers like you to meet our ongoing expenses and continue producing quality progressive journalism. Three Silicon Valley giants consume 70 percent of all online advertising dollars, so we need your help to continue doing what we do.
NCRM is independent. You won’t find mainstream media bias here. From unflinching coverage of religious extremism, to spotlighting efforts to roll back our rights, NCRM continues to speak truth to power. America needs independent voices like NCRM to be sure no one is forgotten.
Every reader contribution, whatever the amount, makes a tremendous difference. Help ensure NCRM remains independent long into the future. Support progressive journalism with a one-time contribution to NCRM, or click here to become a subscriber. Thank you. Click here to donate by check.