saturday morning brief
2017-9-30
Good morning. It is 11:34 in Pyongyang.
The NY Times reported that IUS Secretary of State Tillerson admitted the US has several backchannels to talk directly with the DPRK. This is very nice to hear. I would, frankly, not be surprised to know that the Foreign Minister Ri is one of those. As profiled yesterday, he is known to be fluent in the Western worldview and thus is a cross-cultural bridge.
A Twitter account claiming to speak for FM Ri denies the NY Times article. This account doesn't seem to have independent verification of its authenticity though. Not many followers, and pretty recently created. Doesn't really present as a parody account. Possibly a disinformation account?
The NCC rebuked Trump. I don't know that they have much relevance anymore though.
http://nationalcouncilofchurches.us/nkletter/
North Korea is not happy with the sanctions. I worry that the sanctions are essentially pushing North Korea into a corner. Direct impositions of power often force choices and set up a pride-based confrontation. Humility, that old saw of preachers, is a good position to work from.
Fox taking potshots at prior presidents for not solving North Korean nukes. MSNBC taking things seriously.
Twitter account tenor seems about what it was last night.
Summary:
The big report is the backchannel; all else is roughly the same as last night, barring a few nuggets that crept through. Tags: #DPRK #trumpenwar #north korea #streaming notes
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