After Iran and Venezuela, Kim Jong Un must decide how to handle Trump | CNN

Last weekend, North Korean state media condemned the United States and Israel for launching a “war of aggression” against Iran, but did not report the death of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, along with dozens of members of Iran’s top leadership. That omission was not accidental. North Korea’s political system is built around the near-mythic authority and invulnerability of its leader. Publicly broadcasting the violent removal of another supreme leader would introduce a dangerous precedent. It would remind North Korean citizens that even the most powerful figure in a tightly controlled state can be tracked, targeted and eliminated. That is not a narrative Pyongyang has any incentive to circulate at home. Indeed, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un may be asking himself if the time has come to pick up the phone and call US President Donald Trump. As the US and Israel press on with their military campaign that plunged the Middle East into crisis, Kim and his small circle of party and military officials who oversee national security are undoubtedly analyzing every aspect of the US military operation. And they are certainly taking note of Trump’s ability to pivot quickly from diplomacy t