According to the latest information coming out of Pyongyang, CIA in concert with South Korean intelligence, attempted to assassinate Kim Jong Un in Pyongyang on an undisclosed date during Obama Administration. There were no details on exactly how and when this attempt took place, only that the nefarious act was foiled by the heroic North Korean counterintelligence and other parties loyal to Kim Jong Un's government.
At first it seemed a bit puzzling as to why this information was being divulged at this time, apparently years after the fact. Supposedly this attempt took place under Obama and the former, and currently ousted and disgraced South Korean President Park. But on second thought, it is easy to see why North Korea is issuing such "information" at this time. Frankly, it is not even a very sophisticated form of misinformation/propaganda that is being disseminated by the North Koreans. It is a poorly disguised attempt at taking preventive measures, to forestall any attempt at Kim Jong Un's life, if there are any such plans at this time! By announcing that an attempt was made on his life, any such act now would immediately point an accusing finger at CIA and the South Koreans.
Of course, it is a known fact that the CIA had attempted to assassinate various heads of state in the past, and perhaps even currently! The famous or infamous attempt to assassinate Fidel Castro with an exploding cigar comes to mind, as well as Kennedy's attempt to recruit the Mafia to "eliminate" Castro! Obviously, none of these attempts to get rid of Castro worked, it was old age that final got him! But, CIA did manage to get rid of Ngo Dinh Diem of South Vietnam in 1963 with a "coupe." There were also other heads of state that the CIA managed to remove through assassination, particularly in developing countries. Several attempts were made to remove Qaddafi of Libya in the past and no doubt attempts had been made to remove others. So, it is not so far-fetched to think that the CIA had not possibly made plans to eliminate Kim Jong Un as well. However, I doubt seriously if there was any such attempt. In order to carry out any kind of an assault or a clandestine assassination attempt, you have to have people on the ground and have access to the target. North Korea being North Korea, it is practically impossible to get near their "leader" and it is very difficult to have people on the ground who can carry out the task. The same goes for most Middle Eastern countries, that is why all those attempts at Qaddafi and other Arab leaders have been through air strikes! Today, the sophisticated high tech drones are the main weapon for such attempts!
What apparently has happened is that Kim Jong Un and his supporters are basically unsure as to what to expect from Washington. I believe that Trump's recent remarks about willing to meet Kim Jong Un has thrown them off completely! Remember all of the inflammatory and confrontational rhetoric that was coming out of Trump's camp even before the election and until very recently. Add to that the deployment of nuclear sub and a naval task force, plus the completion of the set up of
THAAD anti missile system, all showed the aggressive approach that the new administration was taking. Then all of a sudden Trump announces that he would be willing to meet with Kim and would be "honored" to do so? This was confusing even to some Americans, imagine how it must have sounded to the North Koreans!
Some in the news media erroneously reported that if such a meeting took place, it would be the first time since the Korean War that a U.S. President met with a North Korean leader. Well, they were wrong, they need to learn their history better! I am forever amazed at the poor historical knowledge displayed by some in our news media as well as some of our politicians! A U.S. President has never met with a North Korean leader, period! No sitting U.S. President has ever met with Kim Il Song, his son Kim Jong Il, or the current leader Kim Jong Un! So, if a meeting between Trump and Kim does take place, it would indeed be a historical meeting of pretty significant proportion!
North Korea has been the epitome of a country that is paranoid from top to bottom. Hearing that a U.S. President has said that he is willing to meet with their leader has really thrown them for a loop. They have been the pariah, the unrecognized, disrespected country if there ever was one in the world! Suddenly they are treated as a "normal" country by their arch enemy, the U.S. who is willing to talk with them! No doubt their first reaction was that this was some sort of a ruse, that U.S. had some nasty plans in the making.
The announcement that there was a CIA plot to assassinate Kim Jong Un is almost a childish attempt to establish a "preventive" measure against such an attempt. If there was indeed such a plot that was foiled by the North Koreans, the announcement and accusations would have come out loud and clear immediately! What this reaction by North Korea tells me is that they are unsure as to what is really going on. They just want to make sure to be able to blame the U.S. and South Korea should something go wrong!
Donald Trump prides himself in his ability to negotiate a deal, no matter what the circumstances or with who he is dealing. We really don't know if he is truly capable of striking a deal with anyone as he believes. So far, at least with fellow Americans, it has been 50/50, more or less. But there hasn't been all that much taking place with his dealings with foreign leaders. If anything, it will be interesting to see what happens should he meet with Kim Jong Un as he says he is willing to do. But then again, will he really meet with the North Korean, or was it just one of those off the cuff remarks that he made? Who knows?
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