The US should accept China’s proposal and talk to North Korea. Here’s why.

By Alexander Mercouris

One of the difficulties in discussing North Korea is that knowledge of the so-called ‘hermit kingdom’ is so limited.

No Western leader has ever met with Kim Jong-un, and nor at the highest level have the Chinese and Russian leaderships.  There is scarcely any knowledge of the institutional frame-work within which he works.  We do not know who his top advisers are and how he consults them.  We do not know how well-informed he is about the world or even about North Ko...