house without answering our questions. joining us is admiral kirby. well, first we of to admit that we don t know what is in his mind. and we have to caveat everything by not having perfect knowledge. i don t think it will torpedo the summit. i think this was a way for him to protest at exercises without doing so in a way that puts the summit in great risk. pretty bellicose about the south and not so bellicose about the united states. i think it was a way for him to get on record that he doesn t like the exercises but not do it in a way that takes everything down with it. does it make sense that this is happening over military exercises that happen every year and kim jong-un seemingly seemed
boris, thank you so much. joining us now, retired rear admiral john kirby who served as the spokesman for the pentagon and state department during the obama administration. i m wondering, admiral, how big a deal is this? could it be a bit of brinksmanship? north korea trying to improve their negotiating power? first, we have to admit that we don t actually know what s in kim s mind. we have to caveat everything by not having perfect knowledge and intelligence of what he s trying to do. i do not think this will torpedo the summit. i don t think it was intended to. i was talking to korea experts myself that this was a way for him to protest the exercises without doing so in a way that actually puts the summit at great risk. and he can punish south korea, which he did, by canceling the meeting. and if you look at the language in that statement, it s pretty bellicose about the south. not so bellicose about the united states. so i think this was a way for him to get on record that he do