When word of a possible summit between U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean Supreme Leader Kim Jong Un was announced, I took a momentary step back from the daunting issues associated with the North Korean nuclear build-up to look at the two individuals creating this historic event. A few facts about them put them in an exclusive club. Both men are sons of fathers who cast long shadows across the family enterprises. Each man is married to a younger, empirically beautiful and stylish woman. They each have young children. Both live in palatial homes and enjoy the trappings of great wealth. Both are viewed cautiously by the world at large and their bombast and inflammatory rhetoric have left many aghast and some even scared given the military arsenals they command. Add to that the nearly forty-year age difference and it begs the question, "Is it possible that a 'paternal' or even 'grand-paternal' dynamic between the elder President Trump, age 71, and his junior partner Supreme Leader Kim, age 34, could frame or influence their interpersonal dynamic and help them move us out of the nuclear danger zone?"
Of course it is possible that President Trump and Supreme Leader Kim will enter the same room and engage in that uniquely human activity of recognizing that the time has come to do what is both practical and radical and right all at the same time - that all the military preparation, economic imperatives, political dynamics - and the fatigue and fears factors that accompany them - will synthesize into a fresh and clear shared vision. We can certainly hope so. But personal chemistry is one of those non-quantifiable factors that can be assessed by historians and analysts only after the fact. In the hours before these men meet, we must return to the realities that brought us to this point in the first place. This reminds me of the question I posed in April to Gordon G. Chang, author of NUCLEAR SHOWDOWN: North Korea Takes on the World, as plans for a summit were being explored. His response:
That said, he went on to share:
Time will tell, as the adage goes. And so we wait - with all eyes on Singapore for history of some kind to be made.
Lisa Bernard is the President of SecuritySpeak, LLC, a consulting firm and speakers bureau devoted to matters of national, cyber and international security. Experts in these areas offer reports, briefings, talks and distinguished lectures to audiences of all types working to bring understanding of security matters to people in all walks of life. To host a speaker or arrange for a consultation call (203) 293-4741 or email LisaBernard@SecuritySpeak.net. See more of their work at www.SecuritySpeak.net and at www.Facebook.com/PodiumTime.
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