Donald Trump has recently made many good words and decisions to satisfy Pyongyang. The American president announced on Wednesday August 19 that he would meet North Korean leader Kim Jong-un during the year, while at the same time the joint military exercises launched on Monday by Seoul and Washington were cut short, at his request. These maneuvers, which began on Monday, saw their duration reduced by six days.
“Yes, I will meet him,” replied the American president, asked about a possible interview with Kim Jong-un before the end of the year, while he was showing some journalists around construction sites in progress at the White House.
This meeting, which would be the fourth between the two men, could according to several observers take place in November on the sidelines of the Apec (Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation) summit in China.
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Cover image: © France 24
Since his first term (2017-2021), Donald Trump has prided himself on having a special relationship with Kim Jong-un, whose country is considered a major threat to the security of the United States by American intelligence.
This relationship came back to the forefront when the American president decided on Sunday to cut short joint military exercises with South Korea. He judged on Wednesday that these maneuvers were “very insulting to someone who, frankly, at least during my mandate, behaved very well.”
North Korea has 57 nuclear weapons
Kim Yo-jong, influential sister of the North Korean leader, said Wednesday that she was “not at all aware” of any communication between her brother and Donald Trump.
While emphasizing that relations between them remained “excellent”, she added that Donald Trump’s decision concerning these exercises “does not merit comment” and that it is “devoid of interest”, according to a press release.
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Donald Trump also delivered an unusual and very precise official estimate of North Korea’s nuclear arsenal on Wednesday, estimating that the country was equipped with “57 nuclear weapons”.
“This should never have happened. (…) If I had been president, I would not have allowed it,” added the Republican leader.
North Korea is not officially recognized as a nuclear power by the United States.
Shortened military exercises, a gesture towards Pyongyang?
The South Korean army clarified that the exercises with American forces, initially scheduled until August 27, would end on Friday. These maneuvers, which began on Monday, saw their duration reduced by six days.
This change in posture constitutes a major setback for Seoul, a historic ally of the United States. A South Korean military official admitted to Agence France-Presse (AFP) that this decision was “unusual”.
In a statement, the South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff announced “adjusting the duration of the UFS exercise” (Ulchi Freedom Shield) following a “suggestion from the American side”.
South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Hyun told parliament on Wednesday that Seoul had not been informed in advance of the decision to curtail the exercises.
The United States maintains a contingent of 28,500 troops in South Korea, one of its main deployments in Asia. Some of them were to be mobilized alongside 18,000 South Korean soldiers for these exercises.
“The suspension of joint exercises has always been a precondition for North Korea to engage in dialogue with the United States,” observes Park Won-gon, professor at Ewha University, for AFP. Also, this “reduction could have a positive impact” in this sense, he believes.
On Wednesday, the official North Korean agency KCNA reiterated that the maneuvers “pose the most immediate and clear threat” to North Korea, a closed country which is technically still at war with the South.
With AFP
