Tim Shorrock analyzes the prospects for peace on the Korean peninsula under the upcoming Biden administration. President Trump, he and Scott agree, made some promising moves toward detente between North Korea, South Korea and the United States, shaking up the status quo that had long held under Bush and Obama. Sadly John Bolton, a neoconservative establishment loyalist, was able to move the administration toward the position that North Korea would first have to give up its nuclear weapons before any concessions on the part of America and its allies, like the easing of economic sanctions. This policy, says Shorrock, is a poison pill: Bolton knows that North Korea will never give up its nuclear program until it’s entirely clear that America is acting in good faith, and so no progress is ever likely to be made if disarmament is America’s first demand. Shorrock remains hopeful that the Biden administration will decide to follow through on the opportunities provided by Trump and South Korean President Moon Jae-in, and try to achieve peace once and for all.

Discussed on the show:

• Kwangju Diary: Beyond Death, Beyond the Darkness of the Age
  
• “Old Obama hands on Korea policy could pose new problems for peace” (Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft)
• The Room Where It Happened: A White House Memoir
  
• “Hillary’s Hawks Are Threatening Escalation Against North Korea” (The Nation)
• Rage
  

Tim Shorrock is the author of Spies For Hire: The Secret World of Intelligence Outsourcing and a regular contributor to The Nation and the Korea Center for Investigative Reporting. Follow him on Twitter @TimothyS.

This episode of the Scott Horton Show is sponsored by: The War State, by Mike Swanson; Tom Woods’ Liberty Classroom; ExpandDesigns.com/Scott; Photo IQ; Green Mill Supercritical; Zippix Toothpicks; and Listen and Think Audio.

Donate to the show through Patreon, PayPal, or Bitcoin: 1Ct2FmcGrAGX56RnDtN9HncYghXfvF2GAh.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download