Joint Korean Olympic team announced

[Trumptonium]

Over the past year the focus in foreign policy in the US has been the apparent deterioration of relations between North Korea and 'the rest of the world' as the Norks apparently have been drifting towards war.

However, the election of South Korea's new President has resulted in a rather different situation on the ground, as junior level ministers have met mid level military warlords from North Korea multiple times over the past six months. Trump too claims to be a "good friend" of Kim Jong-un in his tweets, along with claiming to talk with him regularly, despite what we see in the media and how North Korea behaves on the international scene.

But now the relations have taken a rather awkward step further as North Korea has officially agreed to form a Unified Korean team for two sports in the upcoming Winter Olympics in South Korea, along with marching together at the Opening Ceremony. Unlike 2006 and 2004 and 2000, the two Koreas will not only go under the same flag at the opening ceremony but will actually compete together in two sports, this time understood to be hockey for both genders.

On the 20th of January, the respective sport delegations of the two Koreas will meet again in Lausanne to discuss whether a further unification of teams could be made.

Is this the start of better relations or merely a ceremonial move? Are the relations between Trump and Kim Jong-un really as bad as people think?

[Trumptonium]

Like in the other thread, yet again I want to point out that this is proof that however mad Trump's foreign policy is according to various of his detractors, it works. Simply, it leaves the US in a strategically better position, and with improved relations with most of the words.

Apart from Mexico, Iran and certain countries who Trump associates with holes for excrements, it's hard to find a country that has worse relations with the US today than at the end of Obama.

There is of course an argument with Canada and certain parts of Europe.

However

• For the first time since the end of the Cold War, American spending as a proportion of NATO defence expenditure has fallen, after pressure from Trump over the past year, leaving the US less burden to take on
• Trump has managed to get the US an observer status at the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, led by Beijing
• Relations with Israel, Poland, Japan and South Korea have improved massively
• Trump is more open to relations with a post-EU Britain than Obama was
• Relations with Russia are less hostile as the US is moving towards removing most Obama-era sanctions and Russia have dropped all of theirs
• Defence relations with Egypt and Saudi Arabia have been bolstered, even though Trump took a world-first direct flight from Tel Aviv to Riyadh
• The only functioning government of Libya has begun working with intelligence agencies of the US and lifted Ghadaffi-era embargoes on oil to the US

Is it possible to judge Trump's foreign policy - neutrally looking at its effects - as worse than his predecessor, or even many before him?

A pro-British Eurosceptic himself, Trump is a genuine believer in the value of the Anglo-American Special Relationship - and likes to stand with all America's traditional allies.

In the Middle East, partnerships between the United States and Israel, Saudi Arabia and Egypt have all been reinvigorated.

In Asia, he has bolstered alliances with Japan and Taiwan, much to the dismay of Beijing.

And in Europe the administration has boosted the relationship with Poland, the rising power of Eastern Europe, and placed greater emphasis on working with national capitals than the EU.

Following pressure from Washington, defence spending among Nato allies is increasing for the first time in decades.

When Trump entered the White House a year ago, Europe feared he would embark upon a pro-Russian trajectory, yielding to Moscow's efforts to enhance its power in its "Near Abroad".

The reality has been remarkably different and the message to America's allies living in the shadow of the Russian bear is loud and clear: the United States will fight to defend Europe against any Russian attempt to threaten Nato territory.

So the Trump presidency has expanded US troop presence in the Baltics, supplied anti-missile systems to Poland and even declared its intent to send defensive weapons to Ukraine.

Of course, there is room for improvement in Trump's foreign policy.

In the face of mounting Russian aggression, the president should match his administration's tough policy positions with a willingness personally to confront Vladimir Putin directly about his activity in Crimea and Ukraine.

But if Putin believed he would have a friend in the White House he was sorely misguided.

The Trump administration has increased sanctions against Moscow, and challenged Russian hegemony in Syria.

And it has been in Syria and Iraq that Trump has most strikingly demonstrated decisive American leadership.

A staggering 98 per cent of Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (Isil) territory in those two countries has been recovered by the US-led coalition, with five million people liberated in the past 12 months alone.

The sheer speed of Isis's defeat has owed much to Trump's decision to free the US military from combat restrictions put in place by the overly cautious Obama White House.

And while there remains the need for a more coherent US strategy in dealing with North Korea, on the Iran front, Trump has rightly pushed for a strengthening of the nuclear agreement.

The president may lack the eloquence of John F Kennedy, or the ideological drive of Ronald Reagan, but he has demonstrated an uncompromising willingness to defend the interests of his country, reassure allies, aggressively confront America's enemies and ensure the United States continues to lead as the world's superpower.

He has emphatically banished the Obama era of "leading from behind" while putting an unapologetically American stamp on the world stage.

[The Derpy Democratic Republic Of Herp]

Thats alot of mental gymnastics to tie this to Trump after the millionth time NK said something about nuking the US.

Anyway, good for them, but still just a symbolism thing. Maybe NK and SK are doing this beacuse NK really needs to cool it's nearly 70 year old jets.

[Uinted Communist of Africa]

I hope this is the beginning to a fruitful relationship between the Korean people. This is Americas berlin wall and it needs to be torn down.
Hopefully it will with enough time working to together maybe the north and south will try to at least acknowledge each other.
The future is looking bright.
Also To say that trump had anything to do with this is absurd...this is the result of a momentary cease fire(mentally) between the north and south after all even dictators get bored.

[The Derpy Democratic Republic Of Herp]

I hope this is the beginning to a fruitful relationship between the Korean people. This is Americas berlin wall and it needs to be torn down.
Hopefully it will with enough time working to together maybe the north and south will try to at least acknowledge each other.
The future is looking bright.
Also To say that trump had anything to do with this is absurd...this is the result of a momentary cease fire(mentally) between the north and south after all even dictators get bored.

The cease fire has been going on for years actually.

(yes I know you meant mentally it was a joke)

[Uinted Communist of Africa]

I hope this is the beginning to a fruitful relationship between the Korean people. This is Americas berlin wall and it needs to be torn down.
Hopefully it will with enough time working to together maybe the north and south will try to at least acknowledge each other.
The future is looking bright.
Also To say that trump had anything to do with this is absurd...this is the result of a momentary cease fire(mentally) between the north and south after all even dictators get bored.

The cease fire has been going on for years actually.

(yes I know you meant mentally it was a joke)

I was going to explain but I then I noticed the small words...

[Hayo]

Relations with Russia are less hostile as the US is moving towards removing most Obama-era sanctions and Russia have dropped all of theirs

Not sure about that. There was some rhetoric from Trump to that effect, but because of internal politics in the US (Trump-Russia controversy) and orthodox Republicans taking control of foreign policy, US-Russia relations have continued to worsen in reality. We're sending lethal aid to Ukraine and continue to support anti-Assad forces in eastern Syria. We're also imposing new sanctions on Russia later this month.

As far as the whole situation in Korea goes, these are classic DPRK negotiating tactics. Escalate, create a crisis, then come to the negotiating table ready to grant "concessions".

[Petrasylvania]

More reasons Trump and Kim are slap-fighting, both of them have propaganda arms praising themselves as divine entities capable of miraculous feats.

[Uxupox]

Relations with Russia are less hostile as the US is moving towards removing most Obama-era sanctions and Russia have dropped all of theirs

Not sure about that. There was some rhetoric from Trump to that effect, but because of internal politics in the US (Trump-Russia controversy) and orthodox Republicans taking control of foreign policy, US-Russia relations have continued to worsen in reality. We're sending lethal aid to Ukraine and continue to support anti-Assad forces in eastern Syria. We're also imposing new sanctions on Russia later this month.

As far as the whole situation in Korea goes, these are classic DPRK negotiating tactics. Escalate, create a crisis, then come to the negotiating table ready to grant "concessions".

Have they in reality? I've seen some more cooperation particularly over the matter in Syria.

[Hayo]

Not sure about that. There was some rhetoric from Trump to that effect, but because of internal politics in the US (Trump-Russia controversy) and orthodox Republicans taking control of foreign policy, US-Russia relations have continued to worsen in reality. We're sending lethal aid to Ukraine and continue to support anti-Assad forces in eastern Syria. We're also imposing new sanctions on Russia later this month.

As far as the whole situation in Korea goes, these are classic DPRK negotiating tactics. Escalate, create a crisis, then come to the negotiating table ready to grant "concessions".

Have they in reality? I've seen some more cooperation particularly over the matter in Syria.

Maybe in some areas of Syria policy, but definitely not in others. I know recently the US has moved to support a Kurdish-led border control force in Syria, which has pissed off Iran, Syria, Russia, and particularly Turkey. Russia basically views it as an attempt to partition Syria.

[Uxupox]

Have they in reality? I've seen some more cooperation particularly over the matter in Syria.

Maybe in some areas of Syria policy, but definitely not in others. I know recently the US has moved to support a Kurdish-led border control force in Syria, which has pissed off Iran, Syria, Russia, and particularly Turkey. Russia basically views it as an attempt to partition Syria.

Which one specifically?

[The Derpy Democratic Republic Of Herp]

Shouldn't this thread be about the Olympics/ NK and SK instead of Trump's foreign policy?

[Uinted Communist of Africa]

Shouldn't this thread be about the Olympics/ NK and SK instead of Trump's foreign policy?

True true.......so who do you think will win?
I'm thinking north korea will win a few gold medals ....(because everyone else will let them to make them feel better.)

[Hayo]

Shouldn't this thread be about the Olympics/ NK and SK instead of Trump's foreign policy?

Yeah, although the impact of Trump's foreign policy is also important. It is definitely easy to stray off topic, though.

One thing worth mentioning is the recent summit on North Korea in Canada. Russia and China declined to attend, and the theme of the conference was the US urging its partners to increase sanctions on North Korea.

South Korea wants to take a more diplomatic approach, while Japan and the US are much more hawkish.

[Trumptonium]

Shouldn't this thread be about the Olympics/ NK and SK instead of Trump's foreign policy?

It is pretty inherently related. At least Trump's foreign policy on NK anyway.

[The Derpy Democratic Republic Of Herp]

Shouldn't this thread be about the Olympics/ NK and SK instead of Trump's foreign policy?

True true.......so who do you think will win?
I'm thinking north korea will win a few gold medals ....(because everyone else will let them to make them feel better.)

Canada will win, duh. We win every winter olympics.

[USS Monitor]

I don't think this has anything to do with Trump, and you should stop trying so hard to play cheerleader for him. There are a lot of ethnic nationalist Koreans that have been wanting Korean unity for a long time. They don't necessarily agree on how Korea should be governed or who should run it, but they believe quite strongly that Koreans are one people. The ethnic nationalism isn't new. This stuff about playing together at the Olympics is just the most recent expression of those nationalist ideals.

[USS Monitor]

Shouldn't this thread be about the Olympics/ NK and SK instead of Trump's foreign policy?

It is pretty inherently related. At least Trump's foreign policy on NK anyway.

Is the US playing any role in this Olympic team? No, it's just Koreans.

[The Derpy Democratic Republic Of Herp]

Shouldn't this thread be about the Olympics/ NK and SK instead of Trump's foreign policy?

It is pretty inherently related. At least Trump's foreign policy on NK anyway.

Not really.

Trump's stance on corn doesn't really affect how tasty it is.

[Liriena]

It's good to see the two Korean governments at least make a symbolic gesture of unity while the American idiot threatens nuclear war and other dumb bullshit. Hopefully this is a first step in a long, long road to maaaaaaaaybe a long-lasting relieving of tensions.

[Major-Tom]

This has little to do with Trump, and more to do with the new South Korean president. That said - this is still a surprise for me.

[Zanera]

Shouldn't this thread be about the Olympics/ NK and SK instead of Trump's foreign policy?

It is pretty inherently related. At least Trump's foreign policy on NK anyway.

Doesn't Trump threaten nuclear war with North Korea over Twitter?

[Western-Ukraine]

This is just a deceitful PR move by NK. When our eyes are on the joint Korean Olympic team, the commies can continue working on their weapons of mass destruction. North Korea should've been isolated from the Olympics with continuing economic and military pressure on them. It's the least that could be done.

[Snowman]

It is pretty inherently related. At least Trump's foreign policy on NK anyway.

Is the US playing any role in this Olympic team? No, it's just Koreans.

Well, I did see an adopted gal that learned hockey in Minnesota is playing for Korea. Her adopted parents' biological daughter, or whatever the word for that is, is playing for America. Sibling rivalry

& let's be real, Norway is obviously the best

[Liriena]

This is just a deceitful PR move by NK. When our eyes are on the joint Korean Olympic team, the commies can continue working on their weapons of mass destruction. North Korea should've been isolated from the Olympics with continuing economic and military pressure on them. It's the least that could be done.

There's an argument to be made that placing further military and economic pressure on North Korea is a surefire way to get them even more invested in their nuclear program. This is a government fighting for its own survival, and a government that's seen others like it fall to American interventionism. The more you threaten them, the less they'll be willing to forgo mutually assured destruction as a survival strategy.