Appearing on MSNBC on New Year's Day, former Deputy Secretary of State and presidential adviser Wendy Sherman expressed disgust with Donald Trump for being led by the nose by North Korea's Kim Jong-un as he proceeds with his nuclear ambitions.
Speaking with host Frances Rivera, Sherman was asked to react to an announcement by the North Korean strong man who declared on New Year's Eve, "his country no longer felt bound by its self-imposed moratorium on testing nuclear weapons and long-range ballistic missiles, its official media reported on Wednesday, the strongest indication yet that the country could soon resume such tests," as reported by the New York Times.
'So you've been involved with the leadership there and can sense the dynamic," Rivera began. "Is there current standstill between the United States and North Korea any different than the past stalemates?"
"I think what is different here is that Kim Jong Un has played the president like a Stradivarius violin," Sherman bluntly began. "He has used the time and the photo-ops to gain credibility internationally, while at the same time gaining time to continue to develop his weapons and indeed probably does have a new strategic weapon, at least on its way to reality."
"I think what's important here, Frances, is two things," she continued. "One, Kim Jong Un is signaling that he's still open to diplomacy, though what his objectives are is to reduce the sanctions or get rid of them entirely, the president's objective is denuclearization."
"Secondly, Kim Jong Un is watching what's happening in the rest of the world with China, in Iraq, with Iran and all of that says to him that the president of the United States is in a much weaker position," she added.
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