Trump May Visit Pyongyang for Photo-Op With Kim Jong-un, Bolton Predicts

Local time on September 1, a White House official responded to media inquiries by stating, "U.S. policy toward North Korea has not changed, and President Donald Trump remains open to talking with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un without preconditions."

However, much like Trump's remarks on August 19, the official did not mention whether the complete denuclearization of North Korea remains the goal.

[Donald Trump / U.S. President (August 19): Well, I don't want to talk about that (North Korea's denuclearization), but as you know, I have a good relationship with Kim Jong-un.]

John Bolton, who served as national security advisor during the first Trump administration, projected that Trump will push for a "Pyongyang summit."

Former National Security Advisor Bolton stated, "Through the previous two U.S.-North Korea summits, Trump became the first president to meet the North Korean leader and the first president to step foot on North Korean soil," adding, "What Trump needs is a PR photo-op, and the only thing left to do is visit Pyongyang."

He also emphasized that Trump has already referred to North Korea as a "nuclear-armed state," expressing concern that "North Korea has already meticulously calculated what it will gain from a U.S.-North Korea summit and will exploit it."

Meanwhile, the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) of the U.S. Department of Defense revealed that the White House inquired about ways to resume the excavation of remains in North Korea under the premise of an agreement between Trump and Kim, and that the agency provided a detailed response.

[Kelly McKeague / Director of the U.S. DPAA (National Committee on North Korea Video Conference): North Korea is accustomed to operating two teams—one in Unsan and one in Chosin—four times a year for 45 days each.]

Some observations suggest that by pursuing the excavation and repatriation of the remains of soldiers killed in the Korean War—which carries a strong humanitarian nature—the Trump administration is trying to build a justification for communicating with North Korea without political burden.

Reported by Jeon Byeong-nam | Video by Park Eun-ha | Video Editing by Kim Byeong-jik | Design: Park Tae-young | Produced by SBS Digital News
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.