Will Trump bring about a change of course in North Korea policy?
The USA wants to deal differently with Kim Jong Un. It is unclear whether Donald Trump will now revive the good relationship with the nuclear power - or whether tensions are even more imminent.
US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un were already on a rollercoaster ride of emotions during Trump's first term in office: in 2017, Trump openly threatened the Korean with war under the slogan “fire and fury” after North Korea's sixth nuclear test. Then in 2018, after the start of unprecedented summit diplomacy, he admitted: “We fell in love.”
Nevertheless, talks on North Korea's nuclear disarmament failed and there has been radio silence ever since. And ruler Kim continues to expand his nuclear and missile arsenal despite sanctions. With Trump's return to office, a new exchange of blows could begin, but this time with higher geopolitical stakes.
“They have nuclear weapons and medium- and long-range ballistic missiles that work,” says the former diplomat. “These are effective weapons, good enough to counter regional threats and perhaps even hit the USA.”
What's more, ruler Kim has found a powerful ally in Vladimir Putin, who could help the country arm itself by supplying weapons and sending soldiers to fight in Russia's war in Ukraine. And this has consequences, says Revere: “North Korea is practically a permanent nuclear weapons state, and Kim will not give up his weapons.”
This assessment is now widespread among experts. The big question is how the world should deal with this - and how Trump will deal with it. Should North Korea be openly recognized as a nuclear weapons state? Or should the current policy adopted by the United Nations, which prohibits North Korea from developing and possessing nuclear weapons and missiles and officially pursues the goal of denuclearization, be continued?
