Other View: Jimmy Carter: What I've learned from North Korea's leaders
Jimmy Carter Special To The Washington PostAs the world knows, we face the strong possibility of another Korean war, with potentially devastating consequences to the Korean Peninsula, Japan, our outlying territories in the Pacific and perhaps the mainland of the United States. This is the most serious existing threat to world peace, and it is imperative that Pyongyang and Washington find some way to ease the escalating tension and reach a lasting, peaceful agreement.
Over more than 20 years, I have spent many hours in discussions with top North Korean officials and private citizens during visits to Pyongyang and to the countryside. I found Kim Il Sung (their “Great Leader”), Kim Yong Nam, president of the Presidium of the Supreme People’s Assembly, and other leaders to be both completely rational and dedicated to the preservation of their regime.
What the officials have always demanded is direct talks with the United States, leading to a permanent peace treaty to replace the still-prevailing 1953 cease-fire that has failed to end the Korean conflict. They want an end to sanctions, a guarantee that there will be no military attack on a peaceful North Korea, and eventual normal relations between their country and the international community.
I have visited with people who were starving. Still today, millions suffer from famine and food insecurity and seem to be completely loyal to their top leader. They are probably the most isolated people on Earth and almost unanimously believe that their greatest threat is from a preemptory military attack by the United States.
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And it's been a long tradition for the new POTUS to take advantage of the experience of their predecessors - regardless of party. LBJ counted on Ike as an advisor. When Jimmy Carter became president, his only choices were Nixon and Ford - but he reached out to Ford who was very helpful dealing with Congress. And Bush I took advantage of the resources of the Carter Center. This blowhard has the advantage of an unprecedented number of former presidents - especially the experiences of Carter and Clinton who successfully dealt with North Korea - and Carter's background in nuclear engineering - but he chooses to reject them at our peril. 
Including his role in politics both before and after his presidency. And after his term was over, he was still very involved in international diplomacy - including several crises during the Clinton administration. In 1994 he finally accepted an invitation to meet with Kim Il-sung - then leader of North Korea. His background in nuclear engineering earned him respect - and Kim Il-sung, who surprised Carter with his knowledge on the subject, asked for respect in return. They came to a successful agreement, averting an international crisis, and SoS Madeline Albright continued their successful dialog with his son, Kim Jong-il. When Bush* became president, Kim Jong-il asked if he couldn't continue dealing with Madeline Albright.
The agreement held until 2002 when Bush* included North Korea in his "Axis of Evil" and things have deteriorated ever since. If you remember, in 2009 President Clinton went to Pyongyang to negotiate the release of Americans Euna Lee and Laura Ling. It took a face-to-face meeting with a former president they knew and trusted - as a sign of respect - and it was successful. Tough talk and saber rattling has the opposite effect on North Korea. We know that by now, but I agree - the current "administration" is clueless and has no sense of the history. 