South Korea is not a happy country. It was unwilling to help Team Trump keep the Strait of Hormuz open. So, the petulant president decided it was time to rekindle the love affair with the North’s dictator Kim Jung Un and punish the South by cutting off joint exercises. One wonders if the logical consequence will be the South’s acquisition of nuclear weapons as it can no longer trust the Trump administration to honour its defence commitments to Seoul.

How ironic. Trump is determined to prevent Iran, with its dictatorial rule, from obtaining nuclear weapons. Yet, despite having come close to war with North Korea to stop Pyongyang from going nuclear in the first term, guess what? Trump is hoping for help from Kim.

The question: is North Korea or Iran the better place to live given the harshness of the political systems in both states; and given no choice, which country would be preferable? Quite a dilemma.

What happens when China’s President Xi Jingping meets with President Trump next month? Suppose a Trump Taiwan two-step tango takes place and Trump decides there is no reason for the US to go to war or defend Taiwan. Should China make good on its promise to achieve one China? Trump’s argument could be this.

For much of the Cold War, the US........

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