Kim Jong Un isn't negotiating for peace. He's just buying time.

Negotiations would be great if they were real. These are not.

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un.
(Image credit: Getty Images)

When it comes to North Korea, President Trump is reportedly torn between using his missiles and his words. Even as the White House debates whether to hit the rogue country with "bloody nose" airstrikes over its nuclear missile tests, his secretary of state publicly talks up unconditional talks with the regime. What is the president thinking? No one seems to know.

But everyone knows what North Korean leader Kim Jong Un is thinking. Even as he does a little backtracking himself, Kim clearly has an actually strategy he is trying to employ — and despite the smokescreen he's trying to throw up, it's as clear as day.

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Harry J. Kazianis

Harry J. Kazianis is director of defense studies at the Center for the National Interest, founded by former U.S. President Richard M. Nixon.