WEBVTT - Trump's shock South Korea decision 0:00:07.800 --> 0:00:10.399 We know that Donald Trump has made a habit out 0:00:10.400 --> 0:00:14.120 of rewarding dictators and throwing off the shackles of long 0:00:14.160 --> 0:00:18.040 standing relationships with allies. But even for him, the last 0:00:18.040 --> 0:00:22.440 few days have been explosive. I'm Samantha Zellinger Maurice, and 0:00:22.440 --> 0:00:25.239 you're listening to The Morning Edition from The Age and 0:00:25.239 --> 0:00:30.639 The Sydney Morning Herald. Today, international and political editor Peter 0:00:30.640 --> 0:00:34.520 Hartcher on Donald Trump's latest appeasement of North Korean dictator 0:00:34.520 --> 0:00:38.080 Kim Jong UN and the threats he's issued to Oman. 0:00:38.800 --> 0:00:47.080 It's August the 20th. Peter, welcome back to the podcast. 0:00:47.520 --> 0:00:48.919 Pleasure to be here, Samantha. 0:00:48.960 --> 0:00:50.400 Okay. Well, I guess we're going to have to start 0:00:50.400 --> 0:00:54.080 with the latest threats first. Why has Donald Trump threatened 0:00:54.080 --> 0:00:55.279 to bomb Oman? 0:00:55.840 --> 0:01:00.090 Well, there are particular technical, specific reasons, but if I 0:01:00.090 --> 0:01:04.810 can offer an amateur psychological explanation of Trump and the 0:01:04.810 --> 0:01:07.770 situation he's in, I'd say it's because he's like a 0:01:07.770 --> 0:01:11.890 trapped beast who is cornered. He can't get out of 0:01:11.890 --> 0:01:17.370 this trap that he's made for himself by Fecklessly entering 0:01:17.690 --> 0:01:22.370 this war without a workable strategy or a functional exit plan. 0:01:22.370 --> 0:01:25.850 And he hates it. And when he's trapped, he thrashes 0:01:25.850 --> 0:01:28.330 around and lashes out. And that's exactly what he's done 0:01:28.330 --> 0:01:29.090 in this case. 0:01:29.410 --> 0:01:33.330 With ships stuck in the Strait of Hormuz and talks 0:01:33.330 --> 0:01:36.770 dead in the water. President Trump Monday took aim not 0:01:36.770 --> 0:01:41.369 at Iran, but longtime U.S. ally Oman, which shares the 0:01:41.370 --> 0:01:44.770 strait and has been negotiating control of the waterway with 0:01:44.770 --> 0:01:45.730 the regime. 0:01:45.770 --> 0:01:48.930 This morning, the president tells Fox News, and I'm quoting 0:01:48.930 --> 0:01:52.170 the president right now, listen to this. If Oman gets 0:01:52.170 --> 0:01:55.090 in the way, we'll bomb the shit out of them. 0:01:55.650 --> 0:01:57.290 Those are the president's words. 0:01:58.010 --> 0:02:02.670 So he's blaming Oman, which is not an aggressor or 0:02:02.710 --> 0:02:08.109 an opponent. In fact, since 1980, the US military has 0:02:08.110 --> 0:02:13.429 been using military bases, Omani military bases. They've been an 0:02:13.430 --> 0:02:18.150 ally of the US in recent weeks and months. They've 0:02:18.150 --> 0:02:22.030 been important as a mediator in between the US. On 0:02:22.030 --> 0:02:25.030 the one hand, US Israel on the one hand and 0:02:25.030 --> 0:02:28.430 Iran on the other. So it's a strange choice of 0:02:28.430 --> 0:02:34.190 target to say, um, or at least in conventional logic 0:02:34.190 --> 0:02:38.710 and functional statecraft, to say that my ally and my 0:02:39.070 --> 0:02:44.750 vital interlocutor and intermediary here, I'm going to blow the 0:02:44.750 --> 0:02:48.750 shit out of you. It's it's not conventional. Um, shall we, 0:02:48.790 --> 0:02:49.310 shall we say. 0:02:49.630 --> 0:02:51.829 To say the least? I mean, certainly other analysts have 0:02:51.830 --> 0:02:52.910 called it shocking. 0:02:53.550 --> 0:02:57.429 Well, it's it's just, it's just counterproductive. It's as, it's 0:02:57.480 --> 0:03:02.240 as simple as that. You're already having trouble with your enemy, 0:03:02.280 --> 0:03:07.840 your chosen enemy, Iran. Why would you also want to 0:03:07.880 --> 0:03:15.720 alienate your communication channel with that enemy? It's bafflingly bad, 0:03:16.200 --> 0:03:20.440 but it's no worse than many of Trump's other strategic 0:03:21.200 --> 0:03:27.079 and diplomatic fumbles and disasters. And it's also consistent with 0:03:27.080 --> 0:03:29.160 the pattern we've seen from him from the very beginning, 0:03:29.160 --> 0:03:33.760 which is that he is always keen to do favors 0:03:33.760 --> 0:03:39.480 for America's traditional enemies, dictators and autocrats. But he's always 0:03:39.520 --> 0:03:44.320 anxious at any opportunity to attack America's allies and friends, 0:03:45.040 --> 0:03:53.920 which of course, degrades America's greatest single advantage in in 0:03:53.960 --> 0:03:58.100 in the world, in geopolitics. America's greatest single advantage isn't 0:03:58.100 --> 0:04:01.980 the size of its budget or the size of its 0:04:01.980 --> 0:04:05.140 population or its geography. It's the fact that it has 0:04:05.140 --> 0:04:11.260 an unparalleled set of some 40 allies, including almost all 0:04:11.300 --> 0:04:14.340 the wealthy democracies on earth, and Trump just continues to 0:04:14.380 --> 0:04:20.060 damage that, degrade that priceless US asset, and willfully hand 0:04:20.100 --> 0:04:27.739 power over to America's enemies. It is unrelenting. It is counterproductive. 0:04:28.460 --> 0:04:29.820 And it's just baffling. 0:04:29.860 --> 0:04:32.940 And it's seemingly continuous, too, because let's move on to 0:04:32.980 --> 0:04:35.580 Asia because in the last few days alone, we've seen 0:04:35.580 --> 0:04:38.580 some of Trump's moves there, which just exemplify what you've 0:04:38.580 --> 0:04:40.660 just been talking about. Because not only has the US 0:04:40.700 --> 0:04:44.420 pulled its last aircraft carrier out of Asia, but Donald 0:04:44.420 --> 0:04:47.260 Trump also ordered the Pentagon to scale back on joint 0:04:47.260 --> 0:04:51.580 military exercises with South Korea also a vital American ally. 0:04:51.779 --> 0:04:54.100 So I guess, can you walk us through the significance 0:04:54.100 --> 0:04:55.910 of both of these decisions, Peter. 0:04:56.830 --> 0:05:03.550 Well, let's take the aircraft carrier redeployment first. In 1996, 0:05:03.550 --> 0:05:07.630 there was a crisis where it appeared that China was 0:05:07.630 --> 0:05:11.270 about to take military action, perhaps a full scale invasion 0:05:11.270 --> 0:05:16.150 of Taiwan. The US responded in 96 by sending two 0:05:16.150 --> 0:05:20.550 aircraft carrier battle groups to stand off the Taiwan Strait 0:05:20.870 --> 0:05:24.230 as a deterrent and a warning to Beijing. Now, if 0:05:24.230 --> 0:05:27.590 there were a similar crisis tomorrow, and of course, that's 0:05:27.589 --> 0:05:30.950 an unresolved bit of business. According to the People's Republic 0:05:30.950 --> 0:05:34.109 of China, and XI Jinping in particular has said it's 0:05:34.110 --> 0:05:37.870 the burden of his generation. In other words, his tenure 0:05:37.870 --> 0:05:42.110 as leader to take control of Taiwan. If there were 0:05:42.110 --> 0:05:46.230 a similar crisis tomorrow. The US has no available aircraft 0:05:46.230 --> 0:05:50.390 carrier strike groups because they've just been sent to back 0:05:50.430 --> 0:05:54.440 up his failing war in the Middle East. The power 0:05:54.440 --> 0:05:57.120 that does have two available aircraft carriers to send to 0:05:57.120 --> 0:06:01.400 the Taiwan Straits today is China. China has built and 0:06:01.400 --> 0:06:06.680 now operates three aircraft carriers. Two of them operated together 0:06:07.120 --> 0:06:09.680 for the first time just a couple of months ago. 0:06:09.960 --> 0:06:14.040 So this is a brand new capability that the Chinese 0:06:14.040 --> 0:06:17.880 Communist Party now has as an asset, which it can deploy. 0:06:19.040 --> 0:06:21.480 And it's an asset which the US has always had. 0:06:21.480 --> 0:06:25.960 But today, as of this week, has no longer. And 0:06:25.960 --> 0:06:29.680 it's an illustration of how bad strategy in one part 0:06:29.720 --> 0:06:35.400 of Trump's world produces knock on consequences that weaken the 0:06:35.400 --> 0:06:38.800 US in other parts of the world. And it's consistent 0:06:38.800 --> 0:06:41.799 with what's been happening since the beginning of this Iran war, 0:06:42.200 --> 0:06:47.719 where the US has drawn down assets from the Indo-Pacific, which, 0:06:47.760 --> 0:06:51.760 according to all US doctrine and strategy in recent decades 0:06:52.240 --> 0:06:57.020 has been identified as the US's primary sphere, where it 0:06:57.020 --> 0:07:00.860 needs to dominate instead. Trump has not only deployed as 0:07:00.860 --> 0:07:04.859 we now see aircraft carriers because with the Lincoln, it's 0:07:04.860 --> 0:07:06.940 become such a debacle and they need to relieve it 0:07:06.940 --> 0:07:08.659 and they need to send relief. 0:07:08.860 --> 0:07:13.300 To the Centcom commander, Admiral Bradley Cooper, visiting the USS 0:07:13.340 --> 0:07:16.700 Abraham Lincoln in the region following reports of food shortages 0:07:16.700 --> 0:07:19.900 and concerns over the mental health of sailors on the ship. 0:07:20.180 --> 0:07:23.739 With morale. With exhaustion. I mean, this is an incredibly 0:07:23.740 --> 0:07:28.660 long deployment, 268 days. But even more serious than that, 0:07:28.660 --> 0:07:32.420 they have not been in port all year, more than 0:07:32.420 --> 0:07:36.700 200 days. And that really does put a strain on 0:07:36.700 --> 0:07:39.460 those sailors and Marines. I think that's why, Admiral. 0:07:39.700 --> 0:07:43.420 So again, you know, one bad piece of management begets 0:07:43.820 --> 0:07:50.060 the next fumble. But they've also drawn down vital assets 0:07:50.060 --> 0:07:54.750 from Japan Pan and South Korea, US allies, where they've 0:07:54.750 --> 0:07:58.630 taken air defense systems out of those countries to send 0:07:58.630 --> 0:08:02.150 them to protect US assets in the Gulf against Iran. 0:08:02.590 --> 0:08:05.910 And of course, they've run down their stocks of munitions, 0:08:05.950 --> 0:08:11.310 and notably Patriot interceptor missiles. And they've taken some from 0:08:11.310 --> 0:08:14.030 the Indo Pacific and taken them to Central Command to 0:08:14.070 --> 0:08:17.670 feed their war against Iran, which is running. You'll remember 0:08:17.670 --> 0:08:20.270 Trump advertise it as a 2 to 4 week war. Well, 0:08:20.270 --> 0:08:25.710 it's now five months and counting. So it's yet another 0:08:25.790 --> 0:08:31.430 cost that the US pays. But also US allies pay 0:08:31.470 --> 0:08:36.350 around the world for Trump's bad strategy and chaotic management. 0:08:37.390 --> 0:08:40.230 The second part that you asked about Samantha is the 0:08:40.230 --> 0:08:45.710 South Korean part. Again, this is a case study in 0:08:45.710 --> 0:08:50.270 Trump harming a US ally to the advantage of a 0:08:50.370 --> 0:08:55.130 US enemy, where he's said, on the cusp of the 0:08:55.650 --> 0:08:59.890 annual joint exercises between the US and South Korea, its 0:09:00.170 --> 0:09:05.290 close U.S. ally since 1950. That he's going to curtail 0:09:05.530 --> 0:09:08.970 the size of the exercises as a favor to Kim 0:09:08.970 --> 0:09:12.690 Jong un, the North Korean dictator. At the same time, 0:09:12.690 --> 0:09:16.610 we learned today that Trump has been seeking meetings with 0:09:16.610 --> 0:09:19.090 Kim Jong UN, and for some reason, Trump seems to 0:09:19.130 --> 0:09:22.810 think that he's a friend or ally, that Kim Jong 0:09:22.850 --> 0:09:25.970 UN is a special pal. We know that in Trump's 0:09:25.970 --> 0:09:29.650 first term as president, he described an exchange of love 0:09:29.650 --> 0:09:33.770 letters with Kim Jong un. They've said they love each 0:09:33.809 --> 0:09:37.650 other in these letters, but in reality, the love has 0:09:37.650 --> 0:09:41.410 flowed only one way. At no point has Kim Jong 0:09:41.450 --> 0:09:46.610 UN given the US a single concession, not one concession 0:09:46.610 --> 0:09:49.860 to Trump and on the contrary, since the first summit 0:09:49.860 --> 0:09:54.700 with Trump, North Korea has only redoubled its efforts, built 0:09:54.700 --> 0:10:00.059 its nuclear stockpile, improved and strengthened its ballistic and intercontinental 0:10:00.100 --> 0:10:04.220 ballistic missile stockpile, and is in a stronger and more 0:10:04.220 --> 0:10:08.860 aggressive position than it's been in decades. And Kim Jong 0:10:08.900 --> 0:10:13.740 un has specifically renounced the country's long standing aim to 0:10:13.980 --> 0:10:17.060 reunite with South Korea, and has said that it's going 0:10:17.059 --> 0:10:22.900 to be its confrontation, its war. So how he how 0:10:22.940 --> 0:10:26.260 Trump can possibly think this man is an ally is 0:10:26.580 --> 0:10:30.660 simply baffling. South Korea, on the other hand, a genuine 0:10:30.660 --> 0:10:35.460 ally is now weakened. US commitment to South Korea is 0:10:35.460 --> 0:10:39.300 now in doubt. And the message goes out from that 0:10:39.300 --> 0:10:44.380 decision to all other US allies that their positions are weakened, 0:10:44.420 --> 0:10:49.030 that the US is unreliable. This is again a continuation 0:10:49.030 --> 0:10:52.270 of his undercutting of allies in NATO. So this is 0:10:52.270 --> 0:10:56.390 no longer just the undermining of NATO and the peculiar 0:10:56.429 --> 0:11:04.470 Maga aggression towards Europe as some sort of civilizational faux. 0:11:04.910 --> 0:11:09.350 But now also the US allies in the theater, which 0:11:09.390 --> 0:11:13.709 it's identified as not only the centrepiece and the larger 0:11:13.710 --> 0:11:16.710 single piece of the global economy, but also the greatest 0:11:16.710 --> 0:11:20.510 theater of contest for US influence in the world. Over 0:11:20.510 --> 0:11:22.510 the course of this century, in what Joe Biden used 0:11:22.510 --> 0:11:25.709 to call the contest for the 21st century. Well, if 0:11:25.710 --> 0:11:29.230 it's a contest. XI Jinping is winning that one, and 0:11:29.230 --> 0:11:30.390 Donald Trump is losing. 0:11:32.550 --> 0:11:33.510 After the break. 0:11:34.030 --> 0:11:37.710 If there were any justification for doing a favor for 0:11:37.710 --> 0:11:40.070 Kim Jong UN, it would be because there was some 0:11:40.070 --> 0:11:44.949 meaningful concession coming the other way, from Pyongyang to Washington 0:11:44.950 --> 0:11:48.329 or to Seoul. There's no evidence of that whatsoever. 0:11:58.850 --> 0:11:59.970 Can you help us, I guess. 0:11:59.970 --> 0:12:03.050 Make sense of why Trump in particular, would be wanting 0:12:03.090 --> 0:12:06.370 to pull back on these joint exercises with South Korea now? 0:12:06.690 --> 0:12:08.810 I mean, do you think is he wanting to possibly 0:12:08.809 --> 0:12:12.850 renegotiate or restart negotiations with Kim Jong un to try 0:12:12.850 --> 0:12:15.530 to get him to dismantle his nuclear program, which, like 0:12:15.530 --> 0:12:17.930 you said, the last time he tried this, if anything, 0:12:17.970 --> 0:12:21.010 it backfired enormously because he, like you say, Kim Jong 0:12:21.050 --> 0:12:23.290 un redoubled his efforts. I believe he's got something like 0:12:23.290 --> 0:12:27.089 60 nukes and missiles that can hit the United States. 0:12:27.290 --> 0:12:29.370 Or is it perhaps something else? I mean, is Trump 0:12:29.370 --> 0:12:32.690 trying to perhaps just punish South Korea for declining to 0:12:32.730 --> 0:12:36.449 join Trump in his war against Iran? 0:12:38.170 --> 0:12:41.730 Well, that's a justification that Trump has used, that the 0:12:41.730 --> 0:12:44.569 South Koreans refuse to help him with his war in Iran. 0:12:44.929 --> 0:12:48.460 But no U.S. ally has agreed to help him with 0:12:48.460 --> 0:12:53.619 his war in Iran first because he consulted none of them. Second, 0:12:53.620 --> 0:12:57.780 because he launched the war together with Israel as a. Well, 0:12:57.780 --> 0:12:59.380 I was going to say unilaterally, but I suppose if 0:12:59.380 --> 0:13:04.900 it's with Israel, it's bilateral against the interests and wills 0:13:05.100 --> 0:13:09.460 of other US allies. So you can't, you know, fail 0:13:09.460 --> 0:13:12.540 to consult them, act against their interests by cutting the 0:13:12.540 --> 0:13:15.620 global oil supply and creating an inflation problem for the 0:13:15.620 --> 0:13:20.500 planet where there was none before. And then demand that 0:13:20.500 --> 0:13:25.220 your allies help you in a strategy which is plainly failing, 0:13:25.580 --> 0:13:30.819 and then get angry at them and decline to help them, 0:13:30.820 --> 0:13:34.620 and then, in fact, harm their interests after you've treated 0:13:34.660 --> 0:13:39.980 them so offhandedly and so badly. So that's his justification. 0:13:39.980 --> 0:13:42.300 I don't think it makes any sense, but he has 0:13:42.300 --> 0:13:45.670 used that as his justification. So but the question you 0:13:45.670 --> 0:13:48.390 ask is why is he is what's what's the real 0:13:48.390 --> 0:13:52.550 reason that he's taking this otherwise baffling step? And so, yes, 0:13:53.270 --> 0:13:56.870 he is asking Kim Jong un to meet. Presumably he 0:13:56.870 --> 0:13:59.150 thinks he can get concessions from Kim Jong un that 0:13:59.150 --> 0:14:01.910 he's never been able to get before, despite their three 0:14:02.150 --> 0:14:07.589 in-person meetings. And let's take a step back, Samantha. Um, 0:14:07.950 --> 0:14:14.990 which of these dictators and traditional US allies has done 0:14:14.990 --> 0:14:17.870 Trump any favors? Which of them has cut a serious 0:14:17.870 --> 0:14:22.710 concession for the US, for Trump, as Vladimir Putin paid 0:14:22.710 --> 0:14:26.710 the least heed to Donald Trump's demands and pleadings and 0:14:26.710 --> 0:14:30.910 pressuring us to come to some sort of agreement or 0:14:31.710 --> 0:14:37.350 peace deal with Ukraine. No. Has XI Jinping cut Trump 0:14:37.350 --> 0:14:42.550 any real or significant concession? He's cut him some token 0:14:42.610 --> 0:14:46.490 Concessions on trade, which we know from their previous agreements. 0:14:46.530 --> 0:14:50.650 China likely XI Jinping likely will not deliver on. And 0:14:50.650 --> 0:14:53.210 Trump is hoping to get some more concessions from him 0:14:53.210 --> 0:14:57.010 at their meeting coming up on September 24th. But but no, 0:14:57.010 --> 0:14:59.730 XI Jinping in any meaningful sense has not given the 0:14:59.730 --> 0:15:04.010 US any concessions and in fact, told the US he 0:15:04.010 --> 0:15:07.210 would be cutting off China's flow of rare earth and 0:15:07.210 --> 0:15:10.650 critical minerals to the US, which brought Trump to heel. 0:15:10.650 --> 0:15:14.010 And Trump had to withdraw his threats of tariffs on China. 0:15:14.570 --> 0:15:18.970 So again, no favors to the US there. Has Kim 0:15:18.970 --> 0:15:22.210 Jong un done a single favor for Donald Trump or 0:15:22.210 --> 0:15:25.930 the US? No, he's done quite the opposite. These are 0:15:25.930 --> 0:15:30.330 the people that Donald Trump says he admires and likes, 0:15:30.770 --> 0:15:34.210 the people he said he enjoys doing business with. Every 0:15:34.210 --> 0:15:37.050 one of them defies him. I mean, sure, in person, 0:15:37.050 --> 0:15:40.530 they flatter him, they smile. They tell him what a 0:15:40.530 --> 0:15:43.740 great guy he is and continue to work against his 0:15:43.740 --> 0:15:47.020 interests and continue to erode US power and influence around 0:15:47.020 --> 0:15:49.540 the world. And Trump continues as if he thinks this 0:15:49.540 --> 0:15:53.180 is a brilliant strategy, while launching yet more acts of 0:15:53.180 --> 0:15:59.460 aggression against his allies, whether that's strategic, diplomatic and military 0:15:59.660 --> 0:16:03.260 harm to their interests or it's economic through either the 0:16:03.260 --> 0:16:07.380 higher oil price and inflation, or his preoccupation with putting 0:16:07.420 --> 0:16:11.860 tariffs on everybody, including countries with whom he has no 0:16:11.860 --> 0:16:16.420 trade disputes, and countries which are his notional allies. 0:16:16.980 --> 0:16:19.700 It does sound like this is, I guess, from an 0:16:19.700 --> 0:16:23.500 onlooker's perspective, an irrational decision of Trump. I mean, I've 0:16:23.500 --> 0:16:27.260 heard it described as one writer in The Atlantic said 0:16:27.300 --> 0:16:29.140 America and the rest of the world are now witnessing 0:16:29.140 --> 0:16:32.580 a public exhibition of narcissistic rage. You know, he's just 0:16:32.620 --> 0:16:35.540 sort of kicking out, I guess, at his humiliation over Iran, 0:16:35.540 --> 0:16:37.500 which of course, he thought was going to bring him glory. 0:16:37.900 --> 0:16:41.600 But I guess let's just ask you about this appeasement 0:16:41.600 --> 0:16:44.200 of Kim Jong un. How dangerous perhaps it could be, 0:16:44.200 --> 0:16:47.760 because it does seem a bit nuts that, for lack 0:16:47.760 --> 0:16:51.160 of a more nuanced word, that that Trump is pulling 0:16:51.160 --> 0:16:54.480 back from these joint exercises with South Korea because it 0:16:54.480 --> 0:16:58.000 looks as though North Korea is more threatening than ever. Right? 0:16:58.040 --> 0:17:00.400 It used to be a global pariah. Now it's got 0:17:00.400 --> 0:17:03.160 allies in Russia and China, not to mention the fact 0:17:03.160 --> 0:17:07.520 that the North Korean military has become more battlefield ready 0:17:07.520 --> 0:17:10.720 as a result of the troops that it's lent to 0:17:10.760 --> 0:17:14.679 Russia to use in Ukraine. Apparently, they've become adept at 0:17:14.720 --> 0:17:18.120 drone warfare and other sort of modern types of warfare. 0:17:18.119 --> 0:17:22.040 So isn't this the exact wrong time, I guess, to 0:17:22.080 --> 0:17:24.800 be appeasing North Korea or to be giving North Korea 0:17:24.800 --> 0:17:27.960 more power? Not to mention the fact that there are 0:17:27.960 --> 0:17:33.720 numerous thousands of American soldiers stationed in Korea, right? I mean, 0:17:33.760 --> 0:17:35.720 some of them quite close to the DMZ. 0:17:36.760 --> 0:17:41.450 Yeah. There are some 30,000 U.S. soldiers who've been there 0:17:41.450 --> 0:17:45.490 to help protect South Korea. And remember, the Korean War 0:17:45.530 --> 0:17:48.690 has never ended. They have an armistice in place. They 0:17:48.690 --> 0:17:53.210 don't have any peace deal. The war technically is still active. 0:17:53.890 --> 0:17:57.570 The US has had that presence there to deter North 0:17:57.570 --> 0:18:01.210 Korean aggression ever since the end of the Korean War 0:18:01.210 --> 0:18:06.530 in 1953. And it's the colloquial way of looking at it. 0:18:06.530 --> 0:18:09.609 It's a tripwire to bring the US guaranteed. If the 0:18:09.609 --> 0:18:12.210 North Koreans cross the line and trigger the wire, it's 0:18:12.210 --> 0:18:14.850 guaranteed to bring the US into the conflict, to protect 0:18:14.850 --> 0:18:20.210 its ally, to protect a democratic country where liberty is 0:18:20.250 --> 0:18:25.489 valued and a standout in the success of a free 0:18:25.530 --> 0:18:29.409 market economy in the last three quarters of a century. 0:18:29.930 --> 0:18:32.209 In stark contrast, of course, to North Korea, one of 0:18:32.210 --> 0:18:38.940 the most repressive and impoverished dictatorships on the planet. So, yes. 0:18:38.980 --> 0:18:42.500 Is there is there if there were any justification for 0:18:42.980 --> 0:18:45.459 doing a favor for Kim Jong UN, it would be 0:18:45.460 --> 0:18:49.419 because there was some meaningful concession coming the other way 0:18:49.420 --> 0:18:53.500 from Pyongyang to Washington or to Seoul. There's no evidence 0:18:53.500 --> 0:18:57.700 of that whatsoever. Kim Jong un and his father and grandfather, 0:18:57.740 --> 0:19:01.220 the previous leaders, have always wanted the US to ease 0:19:01.220 --> 0:19:05.700 back the South Koreans to back off their exercises. Trump 0:19:05.700 --> 0:19:08.940 is now doing them that favor without any concession in return. 0:19:09.220 --> 0:19:12.700 But Samantha, you've also touched on another reason that this 0:19:12.700 --> 0:19:18.940 is such a bad move and such a counterproductive tactic 0:19:19.540 --> 0:19:22.700 for the US and its traditional allies, because he's cutting 0:19:22.700 --> 0:19:26.580 a favor to another traditional US enemy. And that is 0:19:27.020 --> 0:19:30.540 within this is another favor to Russia, to his mate 0:19:30.540 --> 0:19:37.480 Vladimir Putin, because if there's military pressure, if the threat 0:19:37.680 --> 0:19:45.760 of a us-south Korean resistance against North Korean depredations is lessened, 0:19:46.200 --> 0:19:49.600 it takes pressure off North Korea so that Kim Jong 0:19:49.640 --> 0:19:53.280 UN is free to supply more troops to his friend 0:19:53.280 --> 0:19:56.280 and ally, Vladimir Putin, to fight the war against Ukraine. 0:19:57.000 --> 0:20:01.080 We know from Vladimir Zelensky's address to the nation a 0:20:01.080 --> 0:20:06.159 couple of weeks ago, that Ukrainian intelligence found that the 0:20:06.600 --> 0:20:10.359 Russians had asked North Korea to supply another 30,000 troops 0:20:10.359 --> 0:20:13.360 to help them with their war against Ukraine, which is 0:20:13.359 --> 0:20:16.600 enough to feed the Russian meat grinder on the battlefield 0:20:16.600 --> 0:20:19.320 for only one month. But it's it's one month more 0:20:19.520 --> 0:20:23.960 than Putin would otherwise have. So taking pressure off North 0:20:23.960 --> 0:20:27.400 Korea allows Kim Jong un to satisfy that demand more 0:20:27.400 --> 0:20:33.040 easily without feeling any threat at home. So once again, again, 0:20:33.040 --> 0:20:36.889 a consistent pattern. Over the years, Trump is helping his. 0:20:36.930 --> 0:20:41.210 His good friend and mate. A mate who ignores all 0:20:41.250 --> 0:20:44.490 of his requests, pressures and demands, completely thumbs his nose 0:20:44.490 --> 0:20:47.890 at him and continues to humiliate him. He's doing him 0:20:47.890 --> 0:20:51.170 a great favor by. With this action of sending, of 0:20:51.210 --> 0:20:53.969 pulling back on the US exercises with South Korea. 0:20:54.450 --> 0:20:56.530 It's very difficult to make sense of Peter, but we're 0:20:56.530 --> 0:21:00.090 so glad that you've helped us this morning. 0:21:00.850 --> 0:21:03.169 In a sane and rational universe. There is no way 0:21:03.170 --> 0:21:05.770 to make sense of this, Samantha. All we can do 0:21:05.770 --> 0:21:10.130 is is is gasp and gasp and observe. 0:21:10.170 --> 0:21:12.810 Yeah. That's right. Thanks, Peter, as always for your time. 0:21:13.530 --> 0:21:14.369 Pleasure, Samantha. 0:21:17.890 --> 0:21:21.090 In other news today, aviation professionals say that a lack 0:21:21.090 --> 0:21:24.410 of available gates at Sydney Airport is forcing planes to 0:21:24.450 --> 0:21:27.330 idle on the taxiway after landing as they wait for 0:21:27.330 --> 0:21:31.090 a free bay. Burning unnecessary amounts of fuel and holding 0:21:31.090 --> 0:21:36.909 up passengers from disembarking. Multinational data business costar has told 0:21:36.910 --> 0:21:39.990 its Australian staff to work from the office full time, 0:21:40.350 --> 0:21:45.989 following the likes of NAB, Amazon and Dell, and the 0:21:45.990 --> 0:21:50.869 Australian Competition and Consumer Commission has raided Wisetech global, founded 0:21:50.869 --> 0:21:54.750 by Richard White, in another blow to the logistics software company, 0:21:54.790 --> 0:21:59.390 sending its shares plummeting. You can read more at the 0:21:59.430 --> 0:22:09.390 age.com.au or smh.com.au. Today's episode was produced by Kai Wang. 0:22:09.590 --> 0:22:12.870 Our executive producer is Tammy Mills, and our podcasts are 0:22:12.869 --> 0:22:17.590 overseen by Lisa Muxworthy and Tom McKendrick. If you like 0:22:17.630 --> 0:22:20.550 our show, follow The Morning Edition and leave a review 0:22:20.550 --> 0:22:24.750 for us on Apple or Spotify. Thanks for listening.