Trump off to confront Kim Jong-un

Donald Trump is off to the Asia-Pacific next month, including South Korea. It will provide him with a golden opportunity to stand inside the demilitarised zone (DMZ) at Panmunjon, gaze into North Korea with binoculars and put two fingers up in the air, aimed at the Little Rocket Man sitting in his palace in Pyongyang. Please God, Trump does no such thing. It would not just be provocative, it might spur Kim to do something dangerous for all of us by way of retaliation. I'm not suggesting Trump should tiptoe around South Korea, not mentioning the dreaded Kim, but a two-fingered salute across the North Korean border would knock whatever diplomatic possibilities there might be left to smithereens. The only time I went to Panmunjon was many years ago in the company of Sir Geoffrey Howe, the then UK Foreign Secretary. Sir Geoffrey was the mildest of men who understood the intricacies of diplomacy and would never have even considered doing anything in Panmunjon which might be considered an insult in Pyongyang. Yet he raised his hand at one point, I think to scratch his nose or to make a point to one of the flunkies around, and North Korea made a huge fuss, claiming that the British Foreign Secretary had made a gesture of defiance towards the border. It was nonsense but propaganda is something which is inbred in the North Korean regime. The demilitarised zone is probably the most tense piece of territory on the planet. South Korean armed guards stand staring at North Korean armed guards across the divided zone, and no one, NO ONE, smiles or sneezes or twitches. It's totally bizarre. The North Korean "headquarters" consists of a frontage but no rooms behind. It's just a facade, like a fake movie construction. But you never underestimate the power of hatred and paranoia. If Trump were to go to Panmunjon, every single move he makes will be interpreted in a hostile manner by the North Koreans. I think it would be better for the world not to let Trump go to the DMZ!! Especially since there are currently three US carrier strike groups in the area which is highly unusual and deliberately symbolic. The three carriers, USS Theodore Roosevelt, USS Nimitz, and the Japan-based US Ronald Reagan, represent a massively potent reminder to Kim of what could come his way if he were ever to consider firing a nuclear missile at the US. What we don't need is for Trump to blow a raspberry while standing in the Panmunjon DMZ and setting off World War Three.