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What does Kim Jong-un want? One thing: security.

King Kim III (as we would have called him a couple of centuries ago) declared last week that North Korea has now completed the task of building a nuclear deterrent to ward off a possible American attack.

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It will return to the task of building its economy and prosperity instead.

Indeed, it will “stop nuclear tests and launches of intercontinental ballistic missiles,” and even shut down a nuclear weapons test site.

He’s obviously laying out his negotiating position for the summit meetings that are planned for this month with South Korea’s President Moon Jae-in and for next month with U.S. President Donald Trump.

He clearly wants a deal, but he has long been afraid of an American attack. There could be a deal, but only if Washington and Seoul acknowledge that his fear is real.

A little story from the Cold War. I only realized how deeply I had been affected by the propaganda I had heard all my young life when I covered my first NATO military exercise in Europe.