Both countries are prosperous democracies — normally strengths that, up against the more risk-willing North Korea, become weaknesses. Still, United States policy toward North Korea could always shift, particularly under President Trump, who considers unpredictability an asset. Myers, a North Korea scholar at Dongseo University in South Korea, wrote in a 2010 book on North Korean ideology. The ambition is no longer to roll back North Korea’s programs, but to mitigate the risk they pose day to day. Even if North Korea never achieves its vision of full victory, it has shifted the conversation to its terms.

Source: New York Times July 07, 2017 12:20 UTC