TOPIC OF THE DAY –
“An Improbable Friendship”
“Truth is stranger than fiction, but it is because Fiction is obliged to stick to possibilities; Truth isn’t,” wrote Mark Twain. Nothing proves it better than the summit between U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean Supreme Leader Kim Jong-un in Singapore on Tuesday. No reality TV show could have scripted an episode with greater suspense and drama than what the two leaders successfully imparted to their meeting.
Mr. Trump, the 72-year-old leader of one of the world’s oldest democracies, an $18 trillion economy with a 1.3 million strong military, of whom 28,500 troops are deployed in South Korea, and Chairman Kim, at 34 the third-generation leader of a totalitarian state with an impoverished economy estimated at less than $40 billion and a military force of 1.2 million with a newly acquired nuclear capability, make for an unusual couple. And yet, as Mr. Trump said, “From the beginning we got along.” Describing Mr. Kim as “very talented”, he recalled with a degree of empathy that the North Korean had faced a challenge when he took over his country at just 26 years.
Art of making friends –
Less than a year ago, the heightened rhetoric on both sides had led to growing concerns about the possibility of a nuclear exchange as North Korea ramped up its nuclear and missile testing programmes. In September 2017, it conducted its sixth nuclear test, declaring it a thermonuclear device, a claim that has been disputed. However, with a yield of 100-300 kt (kiloton), it marked a significant improvement from earlier tests. Four of the six tests have been undertaken by Mr. Kim with a view to miniaturising the device to fit a missile warhead.
Simultaneously, he accelerated the missile programme conducting over 80 flight tests during the last seven years, compared to 16 undertaken by his father from 1994 to 2011. At least three new missiles have been successfully tested and inducted. These include the Musudan (around 3,500 km), Hwasong 12 (4,500 km) and Hwasong 14 (around 10,000 km). Last November, Hwasong 15 was tested with a range estimated at 13,000 km, making it clear that North Korea was close to developing the capability to target the U.S. mainland.
Mr. Trump warned North Korea with “fire and fury like the world has never seen”. North Korea responded by threatening to hit Guam “enveloping it in fire”. Mr. Trump announced that “military solutions are now fully in place, locked and loaded”. The UN Security Council met repeatedly, tightening economic sanctions on North Korea. Mr. Trump described Mr. Kim as a “rocket man on a suicide mission for himself and his regime” while North Korea vowed to “tame the mentally deranged U.S. dotard with fire”. Russia and China appealed for restraint, proposing a “freeze for freeze”, calling on the U.S. to stop military exercises with South Korea in return for North Korea halting its nuclear and missile testing.
Beginnings of a thaw –
The situation began to change with Mr. Kim’s New Year’s address indicating that North Korea had achieved its nuclear deterrent capability and offering a new opening in relations with South Korea as it prepared to host the Winter Olympics in February. Things moved rapidly thereafter. The two Korean teams marched together at the opening ceremony and the presence of Mr. Kim’s sister, Kim Yo-jong, added a dash of bonhomie to the soft diplomacy.
WORDS AND MEANINGS –
1) Obliged
Meaning: Make (someone) legally or morally bound to do something.
Example: “Doctors are obliged by law to keep patients alive while there is a chance of recovery”
Synonyms: Require, Compel
2) Deployed
Meaning: Move (troops or equipment) into position for military action.
Example: “Forces were deployed at strategic locations”
Synonyms: Position, Station
Antonyms: Concentrate
3) Totalitarian
Meaning: Relating to a system of government that is centralized and dictatorial and requires complete subservience to the state.
Example: “A totalitarian regime”
Synonyms: Authoritarian, Fascistic
Antonyms: Democratic, Liberal
4) Impoverished
Meaning: Exhaust the strength or vitality of.
Example: “The soil was impoverished by annual burning”
Synonyms: Weaken, Sap
Antonyms: Strengthen, Enrich
5) Empathy
Meaning: The ability to understand and share the feelings of another.
6) Rhetoric
Meaning: The art of effective or persuasive speaking or writing, especially the exploitation of figures of speech and other compositional techniques.
Example: “He is using a common figure of rhetoric, hyperbole”
Synonyms: Oratory, Eloquence
7) Ramped up
Meaning: To increase activity or the level of something.
Example: The company announced plans to ramp up production to 10,000 units per month to meet demand.
8) Disputed
Meaning: Argue about (something).
Example: “The point has been much disputed”
Synonyms: Debate, Discuss
9) Miniaturising
Meaning: Make on a smaller or miniature scale.
Example: “Miniaturized nuclear warheads”
10) Inducted
Meaning: Admit (someone) formally to a post or organization.
Example: “Arrangements for inducting new members to an organization”
Synonyms: Admit to, Allow into
Antonyms: Bar from
11) Deranged
Meaning: Completely unable to think clearly or behave in a controlled way, especially because of mental illness.
Example: A deranged criminal/mind/personality to be mentally deranged.
12) Dotard
Meaning: An old person, especially one who has become weak or senile.
13) Deterrent
Meaning: A thing that discourages or is intended to discourage someone from doing something.
Example: “Cameras are a major deterrent to crime”
Synonyms: Disincentive, Damper
Antonyms: Incentive, Encouragement
14) Bonhomie
Meaning: Cheerful friendliness; geniality.
Example: “He exuded good humour and bonhomie”
Synonyms: Geniality, Conviviality
Antonyms: Coldness
