Try talking about North Korea without getting into a good conversation. Go ahead, I’ll wait ….
I couldn’t do it either, don’t worry. And, really, how could you not get a good conversation going when you’re talking about Kim Jong-Un and the Peoples Republic of North Korea? The guy’s part cartoon supervillain, part school bully, part thorn in the world’s side. And he’d be genuinely funny if he wasn’t prone to things like, you know, killing his enemies and threatening to start nuclear war.
But for all Kim’s saber rattling, do we really need to be so worried? I asked that and other questions of Dr. Richard Stoll. He’s the Albert Thomas Professor of Political Science at Rice University in Houston, and he’s my guest for this episode of Convo.
Dr. Stoll and I discuss what we’re really facing when it comes to North Korea, the financial and political cost of ousting Kim, China’s position in all this (Hint: They don’t really want a U.S./South Korea/Japan alliance in charge on their southern border), and the reason North Korea stole some trains once from people trying to help.
That wasn’t a joke.
Join me and Dr. Stoll for a lively Convo on North Korea. And remember, programs like Convo are made possible by donors like you. Thank you for your support.
