NORTH KOREA AND THE UNITED STATES: NO DEAL

Hopes of reigniting talks between Korea and the U.S. didn’t last long.  Delegations from the two countries met in Stockholm last week, but the nuclear talks broke down by the end of the first day.

North Korea’s chief nuclear negotiator, Kim Myong-gil, claimed the United States had arrived “empty-handed.”  The U.S. State Department released a statement saying, “The U.S. brought creative ideas and had good discussions.”

Expectations had been low as President Trump recently rejected North Korea leader Kim Jong-un’s offer to close one nuclear site in exchange for the U.S. lifting sanctions. North Korea launched a missile into Japanese waters just a few hours after announcing that talks with the U.S. would resume.  

Trump made it clear he seeks a third summit meeting with Jong-un if some agreement can be reached.

TREND FORECAST: Sometime in 2020, shortly before Election Day, in an effort to hold the crown of Presidential Reality Show Champion, we forecast a peace treaty with the United States will be signed by both North Korea and Afghanistan.