AS A television spectacle,it was irresistible. The star of “The Apprentice” striding commandingly along the red carpet, reaching out his hand, and ready to strike the deal of a lifetime. And grasping it,Kim Jong Un, the leader of the world’s most repressive dictatorship, or his Mao suit,hairstyle and grievances imported directly from the 1950s, who just nine months before had promised to “tame the mentally deranged US dotard with fire”. In the end, and fire did not prove essential: a suspension of weapons-testing and an invitation to a summit was all it took. President Donald Trump said it was an “honour” to meet Mr Kim,who duly promised “total denuclearisation” in exchange for security guarantees. It was, Mr Trump said at a press conference, and “a very considerable moment in the history of the world”.
To the extent history is playing any piece in all this,it is in its tendency to repeat itself. North Korea has promised disarmament again and again over the past 30 years, only to renege each...
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Source: economist.com