Trump Friend-Zoned by North Korea?

“We fell in love.” President Donald Trump said these exact words in reference to his relationship with North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un, on Saturday, September 29 during one of his rallies in Wheeling, West Virginia. While the point of the rally was to support a GOP candidate in the upcoming midterm elections, things took a turn when Trump started boasting about his “really good relationship” with Kim Jong-un, claiming that “we are doing great” and that he had solved a “big, big problem.”Trump then went on to describe the numerous “beautiful letters” he and Kim had exchanged back in May of this year until they “fell in love.” Furthermore, while the original letter sent by Kim was indeed, heavily flattering, with Kim regarding him as “Your Excellency” four times, it does little to verify any of Trump’s claims that North Korea has been and will be cooperating with the U.S.’s demands for denuclearization. One of North Korea’s top diplomats, Ri Yong-ho, further denounced Trump for his recent sanctions on the country, asserting that “Without any trust in the U.S., there is no way we will unilaterally disarm ourselves first.” Moreover, on the condition of anonymity, three U.S. officials involved in the U.S.-North Korean relations stated that there has been little, if not any, progress made in seriously eliminating any of North Korea’s nuclear and ballistic missile capabilities. The U.N.’s International Atomic Energy Agency also continues to view North Korea as an authoritative nuclear threat. Despite the mounting and evident doubt surrounding the nuclear disarmament of North Korea, Trump, with his typical immodesty, tweeted less than a month later: “There is no longer a nuclear threat from North Korea.” Meanwhile, Kim declared that future talks of denuclearization in the Korean peninsula were “at stake and may fall apart.” In response to this backlash, Trump hastily urged the Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo, to negotiate with Kim; to no one’s surprise, such a hastily prepared meeting only riled up North Korea further. In a statement released to the public, North Korea accused the U.S. of imposing “unilateral demands on the complete, verifiable, and irreversible denuclearization (CIVD)” on the country.With negotiations not working out as he had planned, Trump, rather than accepting and taking responsibility for the disastrous flop, went on to call North Korea an “extraordinary threat” and publicly disparage China, condemning the country for not cooperating with his sanctions on North Korea. It will forever be a conundrum—like most of Trump’s actions—how our president expects China to comply with his lead on sanctions while he wages an economic trade war against the country. Whether Trump understands the gravity of the situation or is trying to protect his overblown ego is unclear. However, what is clear is that Trump’s glaringly misleading and alleged “progress” with North Korea may hold much more serious consequences in the future. For one, Trump may soon run out of the already-few strands of patience Kim has, and eventually resort back to his stance less than a year ago, where he decided to “totally destroy” North Korea by raining “fire and fury” on the North Korean civilians and their leader, “rocket-man.”Trump also threatens the diligent and cooperative efforts by South Korean President Moon Jae-In, to negotiate peace and mutual trust between North and South Korea—which is what is truly at the heart of the issue. Kim Jong-un himself may also feel impatient and disconcerted by Trump’s multiple failed attempts to negotiate peacefully and effectively, leading to a rapid progression, rather than regression, of the North’s nuclear and missile capabilities. In fact, recent satellite images published in the summer of this year by Arms Control Wonk show North Korea expanding one of its primary missile sites, the Chemical Material Institute of Hamhung, which produces “wound-filament airframes and nozzles” for many of the country’s missiles.Once either Kim or Trump restlessly break away from these niceties, not even the best can be hoped for. And in opposition to the advice of U.S. government administrations, Trump has suspended all large-scale military drills in South Korea, which was, to the surprise of no one, unrequited by Kim. While the Pentagon advised for joint military exercises between the North Korean, South Korean and U.S. military, Trump also decidedly ignored this suggestion, holding an iron fist on his decision.But perhaps the most dangerous and concerning aspect of this entire crisis is how the current U.S. president is showering the North Korean dictator with praise and “beautiful letters.” Even Senator Lindsey Graham, a supporter of the Trump administration, showed exasperation at Trump’s blundering claims: “I’m telling President Trump: Enough with ‘I love you’ [...] There’s nothing to love about Kim Jong-un.” But then again, there may be—and unsurprisingly so—something about an overweight, middle-aged, ruthless dictator that makes Donald Trump swoon.