Insights, analysis and must reads from CNN's Fareed Zakaria and the Global Public Square team, compiled by Global Briefing editor Jason Miks.

April 27, 2018

Ain't No Sunshine in Panmunjom

Don't be fooled by the broad smiles on display during the meeting between Kim Jong Un and Moon Jae-in, Max Boot writes in the Washington Post. We've been here before, almost two decades ago.

"[T]he Sunshine Policy, so widely heralded at the time, is now widely judged a failure. Despite North Korea's promises, it did nothing to ease the repression of its populace or to end its nuclear and missile programs," Boot says.

"There is no reason to think Kim is another Gorbachev — a genuine liberal reformer who just happened to rise to the top of a totalitarian system. Human rights violations in North Korea are as awful as ever — a fact highlighted by the death of the American student Otto Warmbier shortly after being released from North Korean custody. The North Korean nuclear and missile programs are more advanced than ever. Kim is not suddenly being reborn as a liberal peacenik; he is pursuing his family's old policy of mixing provocations such as missile tests with peace offensives designed to convince the West to relax sanctions and extend his odious regime a life line. We would be well advised not to fall for this gambit — again."

Not your father's summit. The last North-South summit may have gone nowhere, but Moon's decision to take the issue up so early in his presidency gives this thaw a fighting chance, argues Kim Ji-eun in The Hankyoreh.

The "summit between former president Roh Moo-hyun and Kim Jong Il was not held until Oct. 2007, at the tail end of Roh's presidency. Following the victory of President Lee Myung-bak in the presidential election two months later, the various agreements for joint prosperity and the development of inter-Korean relations that the two leaders had attempted to promote through the Oct. 4 Summit Statement lost momentum," Kim argues.

"By contrast, Moon is holding his first summit with four years left in office. This basically means that if the summits are held regularly as he intends, he will be guaranteed an opportunity to implement inter-Korean agreements, in contrast with the two previous summits."

Fareed: Why We Should All Back Macron's Mission

Emmanuel Macron's state visit this week was about more than trying to generate buzz or goodwill, Fareed writes in his latest Washington Post column. "He is trying to stop President Trump from dividing the Western alliance and disrupting the (already turbulent) Middle East."

"One Iranian who is well-versed in the issues made an interesting observation about why the nuclear deal has had so many critics in both Washington and Tehran. For 40 years, the United States and Iran have settled into a pattern of behavior. The United States sees its role as applying pressure and threats to Iran, while Iran thinks its role is to bravely resist. The nuclear deal was an effort to break with the past and create a new dynamic of dialogue. But it generated a backlash in both countries," Fareed says.

"Macron is trying to forge a new path for dialogue and diplomacy. If he fails, it will be because too many in Washington, and even in Tehran, have gotten comfortable with the old pattern. By mindlessly sticking to it, they seem to be leading us down a path of tension, conflict and, perhaps, even war."

The Perks of Being a Global Currency

The brewing trade war between China and the United States might be about tariffs and intellectual property today, but Beijing ultimately has its sights set on something else, writes Lan Cao for The New York Times: Establishing the yuan as a global currency to rival the dollar.

"[T]here are enormous benefits to being able to print paper money and have the world treat it as if it were gold. Other countries need American dollars, and they are willing to pay a premium to hold them," she writes. "Once they have amassed those all-important dollars, countries use them to buy United States Treasury bonds…This enormous global demand for American debt means that the United States can borrow at relatively low interest rates, financing its budget deficits away.

"If the yuan does become a global reserve currency, China, too, could see its influence and economic power expand even further.

"This is a strategic priority for China, and it is willing to wait…While the president and his supporters raise doubts about open trade, the dollar's supremacy is closely tied to it. There is nothing guaranteed about that status, or all the benefits that come with it."

Why the Travel Ban (Probably) Isn't Going Anywhere

The latest iteration of President Trump's travel ban l ooks likely to be upheld by the Supreme Court, yet the disappointment of opponents this week seemed muted. That's partly a reflection of the somewhat watered-down nature of the ban. But it also owes something to the way Team Trump has exploited a dizzying array of distractions, suggests Dara Lind for Vox.

"Unless the Supreme Court rules that it is illegal or unconstitutional in a decision expected to come out in late June, the ban will be in place indefinitely. And while it's always difficult to predict exactly what the Court will do, its handling of the case—and of oral arguments on Wednesday—implies it's more likely than not that it will vote to uphold the ban," Lind says.

"Trump hasn't become normalized. Far from it. But the fact that the Trump Show has remained a 24-hour phantasmagoria, while the Trump administration has learned the subtle arts of bureaucracy, has meant that the two are increasingly independent—with the former overshadowing the latter."

A Right Royal Bargain

Britain's royal family welcomed a new member this week. Money might have been no object for the couple, but compared with America, it was still a bargain, The Economist notes.

"In 2015 the Lindo wing charged £5,670 ($8,900) for 24 hours in a deluxe room and a natural delivery. A survey in the same year by the International Federation of Health Plans found that the average fee for such a delivery in America was $10,808. Insurers cover most of the cost, but parents are still left with a bill of about $3,000—and perhaps a feeling of being royally ripped off."

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