Trump Deflects on Denuclearization Goal for North Korea, Citing "Good Relationship" with Kim Jong Un

U.S. President Donald Trump avoided giving a specific answer on August 19 (local time) as to whether his goal for resuming dialogue with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un remains "the denuclearization of North Korea," stating, "I have a good relationship with Kim Jong Un."

Asked at the White House whether denuclearization remains the goal in seeking to resume relations with Chairman Kim and why he thinks it would succeed this time, President Trump replied, "I don't want to talk about that," and made the remarks.

This has led to interpretations that, given expectations that North Korea will demand recognition as a nuclear-armed state as a precondition for a U.S.-North Korea summit, setting denuclearization as the goal could undermine the momentum for resuming dialogue.

Previously, during his first term, President Trump met with Chairman Kim three times for denuclearization negotiations, but they yielded little tangible progress.

President Trump said, "He didn't like Biden, he didn't like Obama, he didn't like anybody, but he likes me," adding, "I got along really well with him and we had great talks."

He further added, "Not just the United States, but other countries like Japan or South Korea also think they are much safer when I am president than when someone else is president."

President Trump also reiterated the background behind his previous directive to scale back South Korea-U.S. joint military drills, stating, "I don't like the fact that we hold massive military exercises targeting North Korea."

Regarding the joint military exercises, he stated, "Frankly, it can be very insulting to someone who has been behaving very well, at least during my term." The person referred to by President Trump appears to be Chairman Kim.

President Trump went on to emphasize, "I have a friendly relationship with him [Kim Jong Un], and I don't expect anything to happen for at least the next two and a half years. It won't happen while I'm here."

In addition, President Trump repeated his claim that South Korea rejected U.S. requests for support regarding the Strait of Hormuz during the Iran conflict, saying, "I didn't feel good about it."

President Trump also noted, "South Korea actually imports 60 percent of its crude oil through the Strait of Hormuz."

He then recounted a previous phone conversation with President Lee Jae-myung, saying, "When I asked, 'Will you help?' he said, 'No, thank you,' and I said, 'Alright, thank you.'"

During this process, President Trump also remarked, "He made us a lot of money." In the context of his remarks, this is presumed to refer to President Lee. The comment appears to keep in mind South Korea's promise of large-scale investment in the U.S. through tariff negotiations with the United States.

(Reported by JIN Sang-myeong | Video by Ahn Jun-hyeok | Produced by SBS Digital News)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.