Has Kim Jong-un been reading my blog?

Or perhaps the Chinese?

Something's up, that's for sure.

And whatever it is, may be good.

Yesterday Kim Jong-un met with South Korean president Moon Jae-in and declared that North Korea would cease developing nuclear weapons,* would work towards demilitarization and, essentially, that the armed conflict between North and South Korea was over.  He stepped in to South Korea as a guest.  Moon stepped into North Korea the same way.

All of which is a big deal, and that last item, the apparent end of a state of conflict (it's technically not a war as that would require recognition of North Korea's government as legitimate) is particularly a big deal.  That would amount to a declaration that a nearly seventy year long effort to conquer South Korea by armed force and unite it under the red banner was over.  That doesn't mean that either state has declared that its giving up on the concept of a united Korean peninsula, but it sort of points in that direction in a way, maybe.

So what's up?

That's nearly impossible to say, but here on this blog we've long speculated that the communist leadership in the north would collapse in some fashion, with that fashion probably being a Chinese backed coup.  We've also speculated that the Chinese might warn Kim Jong-un to cool it prior to that time, or even order him to work towards a peaceful reunification of the peninsula based upon the Finlandization of the country, in a reunited form, under a democratic leadership with American withdrawal from the country. . . something we'd likely agree to in that context.  And there's any number of close variants to this scenario that could occur.

And Kim was recently in China.

Hmmm. . . .

I wonder what was said at those meetings?

Stay tuned for further developments. . . . 

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*On their program, there's been recent rumors that a catastrophic tunnel collapse may have set it back quite a ways. Those were rumors, but the other day the Stars and Stripes was running it as an established fact.

If that occurred, there'd be a real question of how it occurred.  Simple accident?  Very well could be.  U.S. clandestine action?  Also possible.  Chinese clandestine action?  Perhaps even more probable.  Maybe Kim is wondering what the cause of this was himself.  Maybe the Chinese suggested a cause. . irrespective of whether they were the source of the it or knew themselves.