nytimes: Is Trump All Talk on North Korea? The Uncertainty Sends a Shiver
South Koreans at a rail station in Seoul watched Kim Jong-un, the North Korean leader,
deliver a statement last week. Mr. Kim called President Trump deranged.
WASHINGTON When President Trump gave a fiery campaign speech in Huntsville, Ala., on Friday evening, he drew a rapturous roar by ridiculing Kim Jong-un, the North Korean leader, as Little Rocket Man.
Among diplomats and national security specialists, the reaction was decidedly different. After Mr. Trump repeated his taunt in a tweet late Saturday and threatened that Mr. Kim and his foreign minister wont be around much longer if they continue their invective against the United States, reactions ranged from nervous disbelief to sheer terror.
Mr. Trumps willingness to casually threaten to annihilate a nuclear-armed foe was yet another reminder of the steep risks inherent in his brute-force approach to diplomacy. His strengths as a politician the ability to appeal in a visceral way to the impulses of ordinary citizens are a difficult fit for the meticulous calculations that his own advisers concede are crucial in dealing with Pyongyang.
The disconnect has led to a deep uncertainty about whether Mr. Trump is all talk or actually intends to act. The ambiguity could be strategic, part of an effort to intimidate Mr. Kim and keep him guessing. Or it could reflect a rash impulse by a leader with little foreign policy experience to vent his anger and stoke his supporters enthusiasm.
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/09/24/us/politics/trump-north-korea-kim.html?mcubz=0