KOR
▲ North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and U.S. President Donald Trump
Fox News, a media outlet known as pro-Trump, has offered a pessimistic outlook regarding U.S. President Donald Trump's attempts at dialogue with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un.
In an article published on the 23rd local time titled "Trump is playing nuclear poker with Kim Jong-un — but who holds the cards?", Fox News reported that President Trump faces a North Korea that "has far less incentive to strike a deal" than during his first term in office.
Fox pointed out, "Trump's renewed outreach comes as he is bogged down in a nuclear standoff with Iran, reviving unfinished business from his first term."
It added, "Unlike Iran, North Korea already possesses a mature nuclear arsenal and diverse delivery systems," noting that this "leaves Trump with virtually no possibility of eliminating the threat militarily and makes the path to a deal even narrower than it was eight years ago."
Fox particularly criticized that President Trump's intent is to distract domestic and international public opinion from the "quagmire" of Iran, rather than pursuing the denuclearization of North Korea.
Accordingly, the outlet shared views from experts suggesting that the maximum Trump can extract from North Korea, which is negotiating from a more advantageous position than in the past, is a limited agreement.
Victor Cha, Korea Chair at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), asserted that President Trump "wants to get Iran off the headlines," and stated, "There is no military solution for a country like North Korea, which has 50, 60, or 70 nuclear weapons and various delivery systems for those weapons."
Kelsey Davenport, director for nonproliferation policy at the Arms Control Association (ACA), said, "There is no 'big deal' that can rapidly eliminate North Korea's nuclear weapons," adding, "North Korea can drive hard bargains from a position much stronger than in 2018."
Experts projected that the U.S. could offer North Korea phased sanctions relief, reductions in South Korea-U.S. military exercises or the posture of U.S. forces in South Korea, and the possibility of a North Korea-U.S. peace treaty, ultimately resulting in fulfilling the North Korean regime's long-held desire to be "recognized as a nuclear-armed state."
Cha also pointed out that the South Korea-U.S. alliance will be put to the test during this process, noting, "Regarding U.S. forces in South Korea, North Korea wants them out, South Korea wants them to stay, and what President Trump wants is completely unclear."
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.
