Trump Seeking to Meet North Korea Without 'Axis of Adults'… Bolton Warns of 'Heightened North Korean Threat'

U.S. President Donald Trump has begun putting effort into meeting North Korean leader Kim Jong-un in his second term, just as he did in his first.

On August 16 (local time), President Trump sent a conciliatory message toward North Korea on social media platform Truth Social by ordering a scaling back of the joint annual South Korea-U.S. military exercise, Ulchi Freedom Shield (UFS).

Then, on August 19, meeting with reporters, he stated that he would meet with Chairman Kim within the year. He also took North Korea's status as a nuclear power for granted, claiming that Kim holds "57 very powerful nuclear weapons."

During his first term, President Trump met Chairman Kim three times—in Singapore (June 2018), Hanoi, Vietnam (February 2019), and Panmunjom (June 2019). If a North Korea-U.S. summit between him and Chairman Kim takes place within the year, it will be their fourth meeting in about seven years.

Should President Trump meet with Chairman Kim again in his second term, the biggest difference from his first term is that there is no "axis of adults" around him.

During the three previous North Korea-U.S. summits, high-ranking foreign policy and national security officials from Trump's first term—such as former Defense Secretary James Mattis, former White House Chief of Staff John Kelly, and former White House National Security Advisor John Bolton—focused on reining in unilateral decisions to prevent President Trump from fixating on achievements, making unilateral concessions, or weakening America's security alliances.

Former Secretary Mattis and former Chief of Staff Kelly reportedly played a role in blocking the "withdrawal of U.S. Forces Korea," which President Trump had considered as a concession card ahead of the first North Korea-U.S. summit.

Former National Security Advisor Bolton, a North Korea hawk, reportedly stepped in to block a "small deal" in Hanoi—the venue for the second summit—where President Trump and Chairman Kim attempted to exchange the dismantlement of the Yongbyon nuclear facility for the lifting of sanctions against North Korea.

These officials left their posts one by one after clashing with President Trump over foreign policy and national security issues, including North Korea policy.

Ultimately, upon entering his second term, President Trump thoroughly sidelined those who went against the grain of his governance like the "axis of adults," deploying "loyalists" front and center at the core of his administration.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, a former host for the pro-Trump Fox News, is a prime example of such a loyalist.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who also serves concurrently as White House National Security Advisor, is known to have political leanings closer to traditional conservatism rather than MAGA (Make America Great Again), the hardline pro-Trump base, but he has not been causing discord in Trump's second term.

This ultimately means that there are currently no figures to check President Trump's impulsive and achievement-obsessed decisions when he faces a phase of leader-to-leader dialogue with Chairman Kim.

As President Trump entices Chairman Kim to the dialogue table with unprecedented remarks, such as ordering a scaling back of South Korea-U.S. joint drills and acknowledging North Korea as a nuclear state, alarm bells have gone off among the foreign policy and security team from his first term that watched these developments.


In an op-ed sent to the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) on August 19 titled "The North Korean Threat Grows, With Trump's Help," former National Security Advisor Bolton pointed out, "By scaling back joint U.S.-South Korea military exercises, the president is increasing risk and alarming allies."

Former Advisor Bolton noted, "He made the same kind of unilateral concessions in his first term, and this mistake is more serious now. The dollars and won poured into joint exercises are worth it. All of this was explained to President Trump [during his first term], but he seems to have learned nothing from it."

He also pointed out, "President Trump's actions [scaling back drills] are heightening the threat by weakening deterrence against North Korea. Beyond the military impact, the political signal sent to South Korea and other allies is grim."

Regarding South Korea-U.S. relations, former Advisor Bolton remarked, "President Trump's criticism of South Korea, which has been reluctant to step in to resolve the Middle East crisis, along with ongoing conflicts surrounding tariffs and promises of investment in the U.S., will only further complicate bilateral relations."

He added, "We must hope that the White House's attention shifts to something other than North Korea. Otherwise, news may break in Trump's next social media post that he is flying to Pyongyang to resume his bromance with the world's only hereditary communist dictator."
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.