Reuters Video: “Trump to Face a Familiar But Emboldened DPRK Leader”
STORY: When Donald Trump resumes the presidency in 2025, he will face a familiar and emboldened foreign leader: North Korea’s Kim Jong Un.
During his Trump’s term in office, he swung dramatically between leveling bellicose threats against Pyongyang-
:: August 8, 2017
“They will be met with fire and fury like the world has never seen.”
:: June 12, 2018
– to an unprecedented three summits with the North Korean dictator aimed at cooling tensions over Kim’s nuclear weapons and missile programs.
TRUMP: “we’ve really established a very good relationship.”
[FLASH]
TRUMP: “We had a very good meeting yesterday with North Korea.
[FLASH]
TRUMP: “My relationship with Kim Jong Un is a good one.
Those meetings eventually stalled and failed to achieve lasting changes in North Korea.
:: Released November 19, 2022
Since Trump last met with Kim, the North has greatly expanded its arsenal of massive intercontinental ballistic missiles and weapons that could deliver nuclear warheads against the U.S. mainland, or military bases in the region.
American and South Korean officials have said Pyongyang has also reopened its nuclear testing site and stands ready to resume tests whenever Kim gives the order.
:: June 19, 2024
Just this year, North Korea signed a mutual defense treaty with Russia. And officials in Washington, Seoul and Kyiv said Pyongyang has dispatched thousands of troops to assist Moscow’s war in Ukraine.
Tighter ties with Russia may weaken Washington’s leverage: Russia has provided North Korea with oil and other imports, and vetoed the extension of a panel of experts that had been monitoring United Nations sanctions violations.
Trump’s camp did not immediately respond to requests for comment on whether he will pursue new meetings with Kim.
But diplomats in Seoul and other North Korea watchers say Trump’s comments suggest he may look to rekindle a conversation with Kim sooner or later.
Published by Reuters
&&&
A related CNN article:
Trump claims Kim Jong Un ‘misses’ him. But he faces a very different North Korean leader this time around
By Simone McCarthy, CNN
Sat, November 9, 2024
Republished by The 21st Century
The views expressed in this article are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of 21cir.com