Thread by @Robert_E_Kelly

Korean family reunions are occurring now. They are deeply moving. There are some politics worth pointing out:

1. It is not really true anymore, as you hear in the media, that the division of Korea is what keeps these families apart. More correctly, it is North Korea which /1

keeps them apart. Post-Cold War Korea is no longer a competition between alternative social models with families regrettably divided. It is now one normal, modernized, wealthy state representing Korea’s future, next to a bizarre, repressive cul-de-sac of history which no one /2

admires or looks to for anything other than brutality and awfulness. So blame these separations on the Kims: North Koreans may not freely leave their country, and fear of mass Northern defection is why these reunions always take place in the North.

2. Humanitarians moves like /3

reunions and MIA returns are costless for the North and should therefore not really be read as a concession. A concession is a costly change by the North on an issue of political or strategic importance – such as human rights or nuclear weapons – and we should be prepared to /4

counter-concede for those. This is not that. In fact, Pyongyang loves these sorts of costless humanitarian gestures, because they create the perception of movement without actually doing anything. This does not help Pompeo’s next Pyongyang trip.

3. We should nonetheless /5

bargain for these humanitarian semi-concessions, because we are liberal and moral. Yes, these gains are soft and not germane to the core issues. Yes, the North will cynically exploit out moral softness for family happiness and closure. But we are not the vicious, selfish Kims. /6

We are different and better, and this is an example of our moral superiority. Let’s just not give away too much – some aid and sanctions relief perhaps – but not the peace treaty the North wants for the MIAs. That is too far: nationalinterest.org/feature/will-n…. END