North Korea has now joined the rest of the world in the fruitless endeavor of trying to apply rational thought to the utterances of Donald Trump. The Washington Post writes:
North Korean government officials have been quietly trying to arrange talks with Republican-linked analysts in Washington, in an apparent attempt to make sense of President Trump and his confusing messages to Kim Jong Un’s regime.
The outreach began before the current eruption of threats between the two leaders but will probably become only more urgent as Trump and Kim have descended into name-calling that, many analysts worry, sharply increases the chances of potentially catastrophic misunderstandings.
“Their number one concern is Trump. They can’t figure him out,” said one person with direct knowledge of North Korea’s approach to Asia experts with Republican connections.
On Monday, the White House was forced to deny North Korea's claim that Trump had declared war on the country. You know you have serious communication issues when you have to clarify whether you declared war on another nation.
In all seriousness, it’s absolutely frightening that North Korea is so thoroughly confused by Trump. If Trump’s unpredictability was part of some broader strategy, that might bring some comfort, but more than likely, it’s just Trump shooting from the hip at any given moment depending on what strikes his fancy. That’s not diplomacy, it’s lunacy.