Former National Security Advisor to the White House, John Bolton, who served under the first Trump administration, predicted that U.S. President Donald Trump would pursue a visit to Pyongyang for talks with North Korean Supreme Leader Kim Jong-un.
Former aide Bolton said in a virtual talk hosted by the Korea Institute of American Studies (ICAS) in Washington DC on the 1st (local time), “Trump became the first U.S. president to meet the North Korean leader in Singapore in 2018, and at the 2019 meeting in the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ), he became the first U.S. president to enter North Korean territory,” adding, “There is only one step left. He said, "It is that Trump is visiting Pyongyang." Former aide Bolton referred to the situation during the first North Korea-U.S. summit in Singapore in 2018, saying, “President Trump suggested to Chairman Kim, ‘How about I go back to Washington, ride Air Force One with you, and stop by Pyongyang’?” Then, “The Secret Service (SS) agents were thrown to the ground, and we stopped him.” He explained, “Fortunately, Kim Jong-un did not want it either.” He also claimed that President Trump is pushing for a visit to Pyongyang for promotional purposes.
Former aide Bolton said, “Why would President Trump want (North Korea–U.S.) talks?” “Because he needs photos. He said, "Because I want to divert my attention elsewhere." It is said to be intended to divert attention away from concerns and criticism over the Middle East war, U.S. inflation, and the November elections. He added that if President Trump were to lose the November midterm elections, “as previous U.S. presidents who ended their second terms have done, he is likely to shift his focus overseas rather than confront Congress at home.” He also predicted that North Korea would take advantage of this situation.
Former aide Bolton expressed deep skepticism about whether there could be anything at all that they (Chairman Kim) could extract, whereas he predicted that “North Korea would have calculated very meticulously what they could possibly get out of that meeting.” He went on, “I think Trump suddenly came up with this idea (the North Korea-U.S. summit) one day,” adding, “There is certainly a possibility that discussions are currently underway to make the talks happen, but a summit that accomplishes nothing could instead set the situation back.” Former aide Bolton also speculated that President Trump seemed to be making unilateral decisions without any advice from his aides on the North Korea issue. At the same time, he mentioned instances where President Trump makes impulsive decisions on important issues and expressed concern that the risks of following the North Korea-U.S. talks are high.
Regarding President Lee Jae Myung, he said, "Not actively pursuing talks with Trump is not necessarily all bad," adding, "We need to be careful about what Trump says and does. So it is highly dangerous," he said. Reporter Yoo Hye-eun (yu.hyeeun@jtbc.co.kr )
Bolton's thoughts are similar to ours.
In the end, what’s needed is a propaganda tool.
It seems that all that remains for Trump is agitation, nothing else.
