S8 Ep702: PREVIEW FOR LATER: Greg Scarlatoiu examines Kim Jong-un’s surprising effectiveness as a manager of North Korea's nuclear program. Despite initial hopes for reform, his understanding of the West has actually bolstered his aggressive diplomatic capabilities
The John Batchelor Show
John Batchelor
4.5 • 2.8K Ratings
🗓️ 6 April 2026
⏱️ 1 minutes
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Summary
PREVIEW FOR LATER: Greg Scarlatoiu examines Kim Jong-un’s surprising effectiveness as a manager of North Korea's nuclear program. Despite initial hopes for reform, his understanding of the West has actually bolstered his aggressive diplomatic capabilities. (2)
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| 0:00.0 | This is John Batchel, speaking with Greg Scarlato, the president of the Committee for Human Rights |
| 0:05.9 | in North Korea, about Kim Jong-un raising his alarms again about nuclear weapons. The question is, |
| 0:13.2 | is Kim Jong-un good at this? Is he necessary to the regimes that need the arsenal tapped, that would be Russia especially, |
| 0:23.2 | or is something happened that makes him so aggressive? Greg's answer is comprehensive. |
| 0:29.4 | The grandson and the son may be superior to his patrimony. Here's Greg. More of this tonight. No, I don't think you're getting too far ahead, |
| 0:40.5 | John. I think that Kim Jong-un, you know, there was talk when he took over North Korea. |
| 0:46.3 | As a very young man, age 27, that he knew the West and he would be a reformer. No, he was |
| 0:53.6 | picked, not because he was a reformer, but because he was the one son |
| 0:57.6 | most likely to follow in the father's footsteps. That said, the fact that he studied in Bern, |
| 1:05.6 | Switzerland, the fact that he understands the West a little bit also means that he's a better manager. |
| 1:12.7 | And he has managed weapons production, diplomatic relations as well, better than the father, |
| 1:21.2 | even better than the grandfather. |
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