Good News On the Korean War

Seemingly it's not going to go hot again right off. It's nice to see that somewhere anyway.

After the longest consecutive talks ever held between North and South Korea, the two sides came to an historic agreement early Tuesday defusing tensions that could have ignited a wider armed conflict.

In a climax to nearly non-stop talks at the truce village of Panmunjom, North Korea agreed to apologize for having set a landmine that severely wounded two South Korean army sergeants. South Korea, at the same time, acceded to the North's demand to stop loud broadcasts of music and news, including those making light of Kim Jong-un, whose status in the North as leader is one of a near-deity.

Never before have the two Koreas come to terms with each other after long talks on such sensitive issues. The three days of talks paved the way for further periodic meetings, including this September when officials will meet to discuss another round of visits by family members separated by the Korean War.

Of course, it's not peaches and cream everywhere. What struck me here is the attitude of the English, Germans and several other European countries. I realize Vladimir Putin is a dick. The Prez gets a lot of crap about not being tough enough towards him, tho. Looking at you, Mr. Wang. 

Germany for instance:

Obstacles might come from the western members of the EU, particularly Germany, and from Brussels itself.

While Duda’s goal is a continuation of Polish foreign policy, his predecessors from the center took their cases to Berlin and Brussels, carving out a more prominent role for Poland on the European stage in doing so.

They were widely credited for bringing Poland out of the cold war mentality of seeing Russia and Germany as enemies. Some fear Duda and his Law and Justice Party, which could gain significantly at polls later this year, are bringing that mentality back.

Germany cites a 1997 agreement with Russia against putting "substantial combat forces" in Central and Eastern Europe.

A pox on both houses, says England:

In a recent report, the European Leadership Network in Britain argued that large-scale military exercises by both Russia and NATO have indeed increased war's likelihood.

And what say you, Hungary and the countries formerly known as Czechoslovakia:

Meanwhile, the Czech Republic and Slovakia have been seen as ambiguous in their response to Russia, as has Hungary, whose leader has cozied up the most to Russian President Vladimir Putin. “Convincing the countries of the eastern flank to speak in one voice and opt for increasing NATO's presence in the region is possible, although it won't be easy,” says Mr. Szatkowski.

C'mon, can't you people get along as well as the Koreas.