Bill Walters
2023-09-11 00:29:17 UTC
Trump-Kim 'Love Letters' Reveal Friendship, Flattery
September 10, 2020 9:05 AM
William Gallo
FILE - North Korea's leader Kim Jong Un (L) and U.S. President Donald
Trump shake hands during a meeting on the south side of the Military
Demarcation Line that divides North and South Korea, in the Demilitarized
zone (DMZ) of Panmunjom, June 30, 2019. FILE - North Korea's leader Kim
Jong Un (L) and U.S. President Donald Trump shake hands during a meeting
on the south side of the Military Demarcation Line that divides North and
South Korea, in the Demilitarized zone (DMZ) of Panmunjom, June 30, 2019.
Share
Veteran Washington Post journalist Bob Woodwards new book, Rage, is
shining more light on the unlikely relationship between U.S. President
Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.
The book wont be released until next week, but several U.S. media outlets
on Wednesday published excerpts, including portions of personal letters
that Trump and Kim exchanged over the past two years.
In the letters, the young North Korean leader showers Trump with
extravagant praise, repeatedly addressing him as Your Excellency and
hailing their deep and special friendship, even as the wider U.S.-North
Korea nuclear talks were breaking down.
"Even now I cannot forget that moment of history when I firmly held Your
Excellency's hand at the beautiful and sacred location as the whole world
watched," Kim told Trump after their first meeting in Singapore in June
2018. It was one of two Kim letters published by the U.S.-based cable news
network CNN.
Following their second summit in Vietnam, Kim told Trump every minute we
shared 103 days ago in Hanoi was also a moment of glory that remains a
precious memory, according to CNN, which says it obtained transcripts of
the two letters.
Trump often returned the praise. After their Singapore meeting, Trump
described Kim as far beyond smart, according to the Post. The paper said
Trump boasted to Woodward that Kim tells me everything, including a
graphic description of how he killed his uncle, Jang Song Thaek. The
powerful Jang was executed in late 2013 for treason.
Those comments mirror an interview Trump gave to VOA immediately after his
Singapore summit, when Trump said Kim was smart, loves his people, [and]
he loves his country.
Excessive praise?
For the book, Woodward says he obtained access to 25 Trump-Kim letters,
although its not clear how much of the correspondence will be included.
So far, the excerpts contained no huge surprises about the Trump-Kim
relationship, parts of which Trump has already made public. However,
analysts say the correspondence reveals important insights about each
mans personality and negotiating style.
Its interesting to see how you can see Kims personality refracted
through these letters, said Jung Pak, a former CIA analyst who now works
at the Washington-based Brookings Institution.
Surrounded by sycophants his entire life and as an observer and student
of excessive displays of admiration that enveloped his father and
grandfather, Kim Jong Un almost certainly understands how to weaponize
praise and prey on ones insecurities and desire for greatness, said Pak,
who recently wrote the book Becoming Kim Jong Un.
Unlikely friendship
Trump and Kim didnt always get along. In 2017, the two regularly
exchanged insults, with Trump calling Kim Little Rocket Man and Kim
slamming Trump as a mentally deranged U.S. dotard. At one point, Trump
threatened to "totally destroy" North Korea.
The tensions dissipated after Trump, a former real estate developer and
reality television host who often claims an unmatched deal-making ability,
became the first sitting U.S. president to meet a North Korean leader.
Trump later claimed the two fell in love. FILE - In this photo taken
June 12, 2018, and released by North Korea's official Korean Central News
Agency (KCNA), North Korea's leader Kim Jong Un (R) walks with U.S.
President Donald Trump (L) during a break in talks at their summit in
Singapore. FILE - In this photo taken June 12, 2018, and released by North
Korea's official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA), North Korea's leader
Kim Jong Un (R) walks with U.S. President Donald Trump (L) during a break
in talks at their summit in Singapore.
The relationship has held firm, even after North Korea last year resumed
short-range ballistic missile tests and walked away from nuclear
negotiations.
If he wins reelection in November, Trump has said he will reach a deal
very quickly with Kim. Trumps opponent, former Vice President Joe
Biden, has said he will not continue Trumps personal outreach to Kim,
signaling a return to a more traditional U.S. posture.
Impact on future talks
Some now fear the publication of the private Trump-Kim letters risks
offending North Korean sensitivities and upsetting future talks.
Thats privileged diplomatic communication, said Mark P. Barry, a
veteran Korea observer and associate editor of the International Journal
on World Peace.
The matter is also tricky, Barry said, because Kims words are typically
treated with the utmost respect in authoritarian North Korea.
The worst that could happen is that internally Kim could appear to be a
supplicant to Trump, he says.
North Korea has not responded to the release of the correspondence, but
Pyongyang may not be too surprised, since Trump previously tweeted out one
of Kims letters in July 2018.
It wont affect Kim Jong Uns attitude that much," Lee Sang-sin of the
Korean Institute for National Unification, said. "Kim understood the
possibility of leaking," he said.
Kathryn Botto, a research analyst in the Asia Program at the Carnegie
Endowment for International Peace, said she wouldnt be surprised if Kim
cited the release of the letters as a reason for refusing to hold talks.
More evidence of disrespect from the U.S. or something like that, she
said of a possible North Korean response.
But in reality [Kims] willingness to hold future talks is based on the
potential of securing sanctions relief or other changes in the U.S.
negotiating position, and of course this doesn't change that."
Cracks emerge?
North Korea has for months boycotted the talks, which began to break down
after the February 2019 summit in Hanoi ended without a deal. Trump and
Kim met once more in June 2019 at the demilitarized zone separating the
two Koreas, briefly raising hopes the negotiations could be revived.
A month after the DMZ meeting, though, Kim wrote to Trump with a new
tone, apparently upset that the U.S.-South Korea joint military exercises
had not been fully stopped, CNN reports.
"I am clearly offended and I do not want to hide this feeling from you,
Kim told Trump. I am really, very offended.
September 10, 2020 9:05 AM
William Gallo
FILE - North Korea's leader Kim Jong Un (L) and U.S. President Donald
Trump shake hands during a meeting on the south side of the Military
Demarcation Line that divides North and South Korea, in the Demilitarized
zone (DMZ) of Panmunjom, June 30, 2019. FILE - North Korea's leader Kim
Jong Un (L) and U.S. President Donald Trump shake hands during a meeting
on the south side of the Military Demarcation Line that divides North and
South Korea, in the Demilitarized zone (DMZ) of Panmunjom, June 30, 2019.
Share
Veteran Washington Post journalist Bob Woodwards new book, Rage, is
shining more light on the unlikely relationship between U.S. President
Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.
The book wont be released until next week, but several U.S. media outlets
on Wednesday published excerpts, including portions of personal letters
that Trump and Kim exchanged over the past two years.
In the letters, the young North Korean leader showers Trump with
extravagant praise, repeatedly addressing him as Your Excellency and
hailing their deep and special friendship, even as the wider U.S.-North
Korea nuclear talks were breaking down.
"Even now I cannot forget that moment of history when I firmly held Your
Excellency's hand at the beautiful and sacred location as the whole world
watched," Kim told Trump after their first meeting in Singapore in June
2018. It was one of two Kim letters published by the U.S.-based cable news
network CNN.
Following their second summit in Vietnam, Kim told Trump every minute we
shared 103 days ago in Hanoi was also a moment of glory that remains a
precious memory, according to CNN, which says it obtained transcripts of
the two letters.
Trump often returned the praise. After their Singapore meeting, Trump
described Kim as far beyond smart, according to the Post. The paper said
Trump boasted to Woodward that Kim tells me everything, including a
graphic description of how he killed his uncle, Jang Song Thaek. The
powerful Jang was executed in late 2013 for treason.
Those comments mirror an interview Trump gave to VOA immediately after his
Singapore summit, when Trump said Kim was smart, loves his people, [and]
he loves his country.
Excessive praise?
For the book, Woodward says he obtained access to 25 Trump-Kim letters,
although its not clear how much of the correspondence will be included.
So far, the excerpts contained no huge surprises about the Trump-Kim
relationship, parts of which Trump has already made public. However,
analysts say the correspondence reveals important insights about each
mans personality and negotiating style.
Its interesting to see how you can see Kims personality refracted
through these letters, said Jung Pak, a former CIA analyst who now works
at the Washington-based Brookings Institution.
Surrounded by sycophants his entire life and as an observer and student
of excessive displays of admiration that enveloped his father and
grandfather, Kim Jong Un almost certainly understands how to weaponize
praise and prey on ones insecurities and desire for greatness, said Pak,
who recently wrote the book Becoming Kim Jong Un.
Unlikely friendship
Trump and Kim didnt always get along. In 2017, the two regularly
exchanged insults, with Trump calling Kim Little Rocket Man and Kim
slamming Trump as a mentally deranged U.S. dotard. At one point, Trump
threatened to "totally destroy" North Korea.
The tensions dissipated after Trump, a former real estate developer and
reality television host who often claims an unmatched deal-making ability,
became the first sitting U.S. president to meet a North Korean leader.
Trump later claimed the two fell in love. FILE - In this photo taken
June 12, 2018, and released by North Korea's official Korean Central News
Agency (KCNA), North Korea's leader Kim Jong Un (R) walks with U.S.
President Donald Trump (L) during a break in talks at their summit in
Singapore. FILE - In this photo taken June 12, 2018, and released by North
Korea's official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA), North Korea's leader
Kim Jong Un (R) walks with U.S. President Donald Trump (L) during a break
in talks at their summit in Singapore.
The relationship has held firm, even after North Korea last year resumed
short-range ballistic missile tests and walked away from nuclear
negotiations.
If he wins reelection in November, Trump has said he will reach a deal
very quickly with Kim. Trumps opponent, former Vice President Joe
Biden, has said he will not continue Trumps personal outreach to Kim,
signaling a return to a more traditional U.S. posture.
Impact on future talks
Some now fear the publication of the private Trump-Kim letters risks
offending North Korean sensitivities and upsetting future talks.
Thats privileged diplomatic communication, said Mark P. Barry, a
veteran Korea observer and associate editor of the International Journal
on World Peace.
The matter is also tricky, Barry said, because Kims words are typically
treated with the utmost respect in authoritarian North Korea.
The worst that could happen is that internally Kim could appear to be a
supplicant to Trump, he says.
North Korea has not responded to the release of the correspondence, but
Pyongyang may not be too surprised, since Trump previously tweeted out one
of Kims letters in July 2018.
It wont affect Kim Jong Uns attitude that much," Lee Sang-sin of the
Korean Institute for National Unification, said. "Kim understood the
possibility of leaking," he said.
Kathryn Botto, a research analyst in the Asia Program at the Carnegie
Endowment for International Peace, said she wouldnt be surprised if Kim
cited the release of the letters as a reason for refusing to hold talks.
More evidence of disrespect from the U.S. or something like that, she
said of a possible North Korean response.
But in reality [Kims] willingness to hold future talks is based on the
potential of securing sanctions relief or other changes in the U.S.
negotiating position, and of course this doesn't change that."
Cracks emerge?
North Korea has for months boycotted the talks, which began to break down
after the February 2019 summit in Hanoi ended without a deal. Trump and
Kim met once more in June 2019 at the demilitarized zone separating the
two Koreas, briefly raising hopes the negotiations could be revived.
A month after the DMZ meeting, though, Kim wrote to Trump with a new
tone, apparently upset that the U.S.-South Korea joint military exercises
had not been fully stopped, CNN reports.
"I am clearly offended and I do not want to hide this feeling from you,
Kim told Trump. I am really, very offended.