Kim Jun-hyung "Trump Confident in Persuading Dictators"
Taeyongho "North Korea-Russia Relations Developing... Different from 2018"
With reports emerging that Donald Trump, the President-elect of the United States, is seeking direct talks with Kim Jong-un, Chairman of the State Affairs Commission of North Korea, attention is focusing on the possibility of direct dialogue between North Korea and the U.S.
Kim Jong-un, Chairman of the State Affairs Commission of North Korea (left), and Donald Trump, President-elect of the United States. Photo by Yonhap News
On the 28th, Kim Jun-hyung, a member of the Party for National Innovation, expressed on CBS Radio's 'Kim Hyun-jung's News Show' that direct talks between North Korea and the U.S. are "a matter of timing," viewing the possibility positively.
Kim, who formerly served as the president of the Korea National Diplomatic Academy, said, "Usually, for political correctness, leaders like Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chairman Kim, these dictators, are not met," adding, "However, President-elect Trump believes that only he can persuade dictators. He wants to prove that, and he expressed considerable regret that if the first Trump administration had succeeded in establishing peace on the Korean Peninsula, he could have won the Nobel Prize."
However, Kim predicted, "Due to more urgent issues such as the Russia-Ukraine war, domestic U.S. politics, and tariffs, it may be difficult to hold a North Korea-U.S. summit immediately."
On the other hand, there are also forecasts that direct talks between North Korea and the U.S. will be difficult to realize, given that North Korea's situation and stance have changed since Trump's first term.
On the same day, Tae Yong-ho, Secretary General of the Democratic Peaceful Unification Advisory Council, stated on SBS Radio's 'Kim Tae-hyun's Political Show,' "The situation in North Korea in 2018 and now is completely different. At that time, North Korea was desperate to urgently lift sanctions, so it needed to quickly lift them through a summit," adding, "Now, the axis of Russia has broken down the sanctions against North Korea, and rather, North Korean troops are going to Ukraine, and North Korea is receiving a considerable amount of cash and military technology from Russia."
He continued, "For Kim Jong-un, cash is coming in, so he is all-in on the relationship with Russia," and said, "In a situation where the Ukraine war has not ended, he will think there is absolutely no need to start a new game with the U.S."
He also pointed out that direct talks between North Korea and the U.S. that bypass South Korea could be very unfavorable for South Korea. Secretary General Tae added, "Inter-Korean relations are extremely tense, and if, at such a time, the U.S. and North Korea make a deal on nuclear disarmament bypassing us, it would be the worst situation for us."
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