And fast forward again to only a few weeks ago, with Pompeo's swagger applied to meetings with Kim Jong-un.
Way apart from a Netflix-style plot twist, a quite possible narrative is Pompeo impressing on Kim the beauty of a sweet, US-brokered rare earth elements deal. But China and Russia must be locked out. Or else. It's not hard to visualize Xi understanding the implications.
The DPRK -- this unique mix of Turkmenistan and post-USSR Romania -- may be on the cusp of being integrated to a vast supply chain via an Iron Silk Road, with the Russia-China strategic partnership simultaneously investing in railways, pipelines and ports in parallel to North-South Korean special economic zones (SEZs), Chinese-style, coming to fruition.
As Gazprom's Deputy CEO Vitaly Markelov has revealed: "The South Korean side has asked Gazprom... to restart a key project -- a gas pipeline across North Korea, an umbilical cord between South Korea and the Eurasian landmass.
Since key discussions at the Far East Summit in Vladivostok in September 2017, the roadmap is set for South Korea, China and Russia to attach the DPRK to Eurasia integration, developing its agriculture, hydropower and -- crucially -- mineral wealth.
As much as the Trump administration may be late in the game, it's unthinkable Washington would abandon a piece of the (metal) action.
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