About this episode
Two of the world’s most volatile heads of state—Kim Jong Un and Donald Trump—have moved in the span of a year from trading insults to trading fawning letters. Now, they're days away from the first meeting between a sitting U.S. president and a North Korean leader. Between Kim's nuclear ambitions and Trump's political pressures, the stakes of this exchange couldn’t be higher. Are we headed toward the world’s most unlikely match? Or its worst diplomatic divorce? Links - “The Threat to Kim Jong Un Within North Korea” (Uri Friedman, June 4, 2018) - “So Is the North Korea Summit Back On, or What?” (Uri Friedman, May 31, 2018) - “How South Korea Pulled Trump and Kim Back From the Brink” (Uri Friedman, May 27, 2018) - “South Korea’s President Moon is the man in the (very precarious) middle” (Michelle Ye Hee Lee, Washington Post , May 28, 2018) - “Former South Korean National-Security Adviser: The U.S. May Have to Withdraw Some Troops” (Uri Friedman, May 23, 2018) - “Trumpism: Speak Loudly and Carry a Big Stick" (Uri Friedman, April 6, 2018) - “The Man Behind the North Korea Negotiations” (S. Nathan Park, March 12, 2018) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices