U.S. President Donald Trump has startled the world with bellicose rhetoric about North Korea, including after Pyongyang's recent claim to have successfully tested a hydrogen bomb. But he has not made his remarks in isolation. Since his inauguration in January, the mood among the foreign policy establishment in Washington has turned more hawkish toward Pyongyang.
The many seminars on North Korea organized by think tank and other organizations -- numbering three or four every week in Washington, indicating how hot the topic is -- can be easily categorized into two camps: those focused on increasing sanctions or military preparations against North Korea (the hawks) and those recommending some form of engagement with Pyongyang (the doves). The doves, who have been an endangered species in Washington, are now in danger of becoming extinct.
