Tag: Kim Jong-un

If the focus of a summit is denuclearization of North Korea it would be a pointless meeting because Kim Jong-un will never agree to getting rid of his nukes. However, negotiating away his ICBM program and stopping proliferation I think are achievable goals:

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un may seek another summit over its nuclear program with US President-elect Donald Trump following his second-term win, but the chances for a meaningful deal appear to be lower, given the North’s enhanced nuclear capabilities, analysts said.

During his first term, Trump hosted the first-ever summit between American and North Korean leaders with Kim in Singapore in 2018, followed by another summit in Hanoi, Vietnam, the next year. But they failed to produce a deal to curb North Korea’s nuclear program.

Korea Herald

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NK leader visits flood-stricken region

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un announces measures to support flood victims during his visit to a temporary shelter in Uiju County in North Pyongan Province in this photo released by the state-run Korean Central News Agency on Aug. 10, 2024. (Yonhap)

It is pretty clear if Kim Jong-un wants something he will get it despite the sanctions on North Korea:

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un appears to be using a new model of a Mercedes-Benz SUV in a move snubbing international sanctions banning North Korea’s imports of luxury items.

Photos carried by the Korean Central News Agency on Saturday showed a black Mercedes-Benz SUV on a special train that Kim used to visit flood-hit areas of Uiju County in the northwestern province of North Phyongan last week.

The SUV is presumed to be the top-class model of the face-lifted Mercedes-Maybach GLS 600 4MATIC that was launched in April in South Korea. The price tag started at 279 million won (US$204,000).

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

N. Korean leader inspects flood-hit areas

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un (sitting) inspects the Air Force’s rescue work during a visit to flood-hit areas in Sinuiju and Uiju, North Pyongan Province, on July 28, 2024, in this photo provided by the North’s official Korean Central News Agency. (Yonhap)

North Korea’s statement is not entirely true because Trump and Kim’s personal relationship ushered in an era where there was far less provocations and antagonism compared to prior years:

North Korea on Tuesday dismissed former US President Donald Trump’s repeated boasts about his close relationship with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un as a “lingering desire,” stating that their personal bond did not bring about “any substantial positive change.”

The statement, delivered through the state-run Korean Central News Agency, which is tailored more to external audiences than domestic ones, marked Pyongyang’s first official reaction to Trump’s campaign trail remarks. (…..)

“It is true that Trump, when he was president, tried to reflect the special personal relations between the heads of states in the relations between states, but he did not bring about any substantial positive change,” the commentary read.

“The foreign policy of a state and personal feelings must be strictly distinguished,” it added.

Pyongyang reiterated its stance that the ball is in the US court, urging the US to abandon what it labeled as a “hostile policy” toward North Korea in the commentary. Pyongyang considers the US extended deterrence commitment to South Korea in response to mounting threats from North Korea, such as the deployment of US strategic assets to the peninsula, as part of the hostile policy.

Korea Herald

You can read more at the link.

It looks like Putin and Kim are now BFF’s:

Russian President Vladimir Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un signed a comprehensive strategic partnership treaty calling for mutual assistance if either is attacked Wednesday as they held summit talks in Pyongyang.

Putin also said Russia does not rule out military and technical cooperation with North Korea in line with the partnership treaty, fueling concern the two countries could further deepen their already serious military cooperation, including in Russia’s war in Ukraine.

“The treaty on comprehensive partnership signed today provides for mutual assistance in the event of aggression against one of the parties to this treaty,” Putin said after summit talks with Kim, according to Russia’s TASS news agency.

Putin hailed the treaty as a “truly groundbreaking document” that “reflects the desire of the two countries not to rest on their laurels, but to bring our relations to a new qualitative level,” according to TASS. (……)

Kim declared that the North’s relations Russia have been upgraded to the level of alliance. (….)

Kim expressed “full support” Wednesday for Russia’s war in Ukraine and pledged to strengthen strategic cooperation, according to TASS.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.