August 05, 2020
Bolton memoir: guide for how not to negotiate with North Korea
Even self-serving interpretations of history can be useful. Ambassador John Bolton's recent memoir, "The Room Where It Happened," offers something counterintuitively useful to those who wish for progress in nuclear negotiations with North Korea. As Trump's former national security adviser, Bolton confesses with self-satisfaction that he helped sabotage nuclear negotiations with North Korea at multiple points.
Even self-serving interpretations of history can be useful.
In Bolton's mind, though, sabotage was a kind of success. He holds a peculiar set of beliefs about North Korea that depend on a selective reading of history and a feeble understanding of Seoul's neighbor to the North. These beliefs, which are widely held in Washington, help us understand how the U.S.' North Korea policy has persisted over decades despite repeated failures.
Read the full article in The Korea Times.
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