Trump is right about North Korean missiles, and here's what he should do about it

What to make of this week’s report from the Center for Strategic and International Studies detailing the existence of 15-20 ballistic missile operating bases in North Korea? To put it bluntly: Nothing much. While the the New York Times may call North Korea’s ongoing ballistic missile work as a “ great deception,” the truth is closer to President Trump’s tweet:

Coming at a time when Washington and Pyongyang are working on scheduling a second summit early next year between Trump and Kim Jong Un, the CSIS report smacks of unfortunate timing. Hardliners in the Trump administration will try to exploit the existence of undeclared North Korean missile facilities to convince the president to reform his policy in a far more hawkish direction.

But while news of undeclared missile bases is indeed unfortunate, it’s not in the least bit surprising. Indeed, to believe North Korea wasn’t continuing to improve the quantity and quality of its missiles, as United States intelligence officials have confirmed, is to engage in an exercise in self-deception.

There are a number of vital points the Trump administration needs to remember when misleading reports like these come out.

First and foremost, the CSIS report confirms what the Un.S. has long suspected: If Kim is open to making the strategic decision to denuclearize his regime (an unproven assumption), he won’t do so without corresponding, phased measures from the U.S. Viewed from Kim’s perspective, it would be absolutely foolish to disarm Pyongyang’s nuclear and ballistic missile programs on the front-end without getting substantial concessions in return.