Trump Says He ‘Wouldn’t Let’ CIA Spy On Kim Jong Un

Trump told reporters that he would not allow the CIA to use North Korea dictator Kim Jung Un’s family as informants. The comments came on Tuesday afternoon as Trump prepared to leave for an event in Iowa.

“I saw the information about the CIA with respect to his brother or half-brother, and I would tell him that would not happen under my… under my auspices. That’s for sure. I wouldn’t let that happen under my auspices,” Trump said.

In his remarks, Trump was referring to reports that Kim’s half-brother, Kim Jong Nan, was a CIA informant before he was murdered in 2017, allegedly under orders from the North Korean government.

View the complete June 11 article by Dan Desai Martin on the National Memo website here.

Trump suffers disappointing setback with North Korea

President Trump suffered a significant blow on Thursday when his nuclear summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un unexpectedly collapsed.

Trump traveled halfway around the world to Vietnam on a mission to broker a historic nuclear accord with Kim, with whom he has spent more than a year building a personal relationship in order to deliver on his No. 1 foreign policy goal of ridding North Korea of nuclear weapons.

Instead, the self-styled negotiator in chief left the two-day summit with no deal after failing to persuade the North Korean strongman to commit to surrendering his arsenal.

View the complete February 28 article by Jordan Fabian on The Hill website here.

Trump-Kim summit ends with no agreement on denuclearization

President Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un’s second summit ended without any agreement Thursday.

“Sometimes you have to walk,” Trump said at a press conference in Hanoi, Vietnam. “This was just one of those times.”

Trump said the sticking point was sanctions, which Kim wanted lifted before taking all steps the United States was asking of him.

View the complete February 28 article by Rebecca Kheel on The Hill website here.

Newly revealed North Korean missile bases cast doubt on value of Trump’s summit with Kim Jong Un

Overview of the Sakkanmol Missile Operating Base and adjacent unidentified military facility on March 29, 2018. Credit: DigitalGlobe, CSIS NA

On Monday, a new report from a Washington think tank identified more than a dozen hidden bases in North Korea that could be used to disperse mobile launchers for ballistic missiles in the event of a conflict.

Are these bases evidence that North Korea is cheating on the agreement it reached in June, when President Trump met North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in Singapore? Analysts say the answer is no — although there are plenty of caveats.

“Kim hasn’t broken any promises,” said Jeffrey Lewis, a nonproliferation expert at the Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterrey. “Instead, he’s making good on one of them — to mass produce nuclear weapons.”

View the complete November 12 article by Adam Taylor on The Washington Post website here.

Want to Know More About: North Korea

Janis Mackey Frayer: “[Trump’s] Enthusiasm Is Not Shared By Everyone. The President’s Own Historic Summit With Kim Jong Un Has Yielded Little Progress.” JANIS MACKEY FRAYER: “There are a lot of headlines out of this summit breaking overnight, including a first ever visit by a North Korean in the south and a possible joint olympic bid for 2032. Pageantry, there is a lot of skepticism about North Korea is actually taking steps towards denuclearization or throwing the issue back in the US’s court. In Pyongyang the leaders of north and South Korea are claiming a dip plat I can breakthrough. Their summit with cheering crowds, even an embrace, producing an agreement to achieve denuclearization. Kim Jong declaring, we have promised to make the Korean peninsula the land of peace. His statement with south Korean president moon monso the north promised to shut down one of its main missile sites. President trump tweeting, Kim Jong-un has agreed to allow nuke inspections subject to final negotiations and to permanently dismantle a test site and launchpad in the presence of international experts. His enthusiasm is not shared by everyone. The president’s own historic summit with Kim jong Un has yielded little progress. Analysts warn the statement lacks details and includes demands America may not like. But South Korea a crucial ally seems determined to forge closer ties with the north while behind the scenes Kim Jong-un’s the diplomacy, the world waiting for Washington. At issue here, the peace treaty. As a precursor, whereas the U.S. Views it as a goal. President moon will brief the us on his talks today, which could pave the way to a second summit N Kim Jong-un and president trump.” [Today, NBC, 9/19/18; VIDEO]

Jon Karl: “In Terms Of Denuclearization The North Koreans Are Also Saying They Will Dismantle A Nuclear Test Facility, But They Are Demanding Reciprocal Measures By The United States. It’s Unclear What That Means.” KARL: “In terms of denuclearization the North Koreans are also saying they will dismantle a nuclear test facility, but they are demanding reciprocal measures by the United States. It’s unclear what that means, so the bottom line here that we are a long, long way from denuclearization but that does look like a step in the right direction.” [Good Morning America, ABC, 9/19/18; VIDEO]

Ben Tracy: “Despite What They’re Doing And Saying Publicly, Satellite Imagery And Reports From The U.N. Say They’re Still Moving Forward With Their Nuclear Weapons Program.” TRACY: “We were there last week when they had their parade and they did not parade their intercontinental ballistic missile or mention nuclear weapons at any of their events. But despite what they’re doing and saying publicly, satellite imagery and reports from the U.N. Say they’re still moving forward with their nuclear weapons program, they’re just doing it much more quietly.”[This Morning, CBS, 9/19/18;

In private, Trump vents frustration over lack of progress on North Korea

The following article by John Hudson, Josh Dawsey and Carol D. Leonnig was posted on the Washington Post website July 22, 2018:

President Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un signed an agreement on June 12. But Trump’s claims about what has happened since then lack evidence. (Meg Kelly/The Washington Post)

When he emerged from his summit with Kim Jong Un last month, President Trump tri­umphantly declared that North Korea no longer posed a nuclear threat and that one of the world’s most intractable geopolitical crises had been “largely solved.”

But in the days and weeks since then, U.S. negotiators have faced stiff resistance from a North Korean team practiced in the art of delay and obfuscation.

Diplomats say the North Koreans have canceled follow-up meetings, demanded more money and failed to maintain basic communications, even as the once-isolated regime’s engagements with China and South Korea flourish.

View the complete article here.

‘Dictator envy’: Trump’s praise of Kim Jong Un widens his embrace of totalitarian leaders

The following article by Philip Rucker was posted on the Washington Post website June 15, 2018:

President Trump’s praise Friday for Kim Jong Un’s authoritarian rule in North Korea — and his apparent envy that people there “sit up at attention” when the 35-year-old dictator speaks — marked an escalation of the American president’s open embrace of totalitarian leaders around the world.

Reflecting on his impressions of Kim following their Singapore summit, Trump told Fox News: “He’s the head of a country, and I mean he’s the strong head. Don’t let anyone think anything different. He speaks, and his people sit up at attention. I want my people to do the same.” Continue reading “‘Dictator envy’: Trump’s praise of Kim Jong Un widens his embrace of totalitarian leaders”

What body language experts saw when Trump and Kim Jong Un met

The following article by Monica Ulmanu and Kevin Uhrmacher was posted on the Washington Post website June 12, 2018:

The two leaders began their summit in Singapore with a historic handshake.

In front of a backdrop of alternating American and North Korean flags, President Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un approached from opposite sides of a stage and shook hands in the middle.

While the leaders spoke little in their appearances Tuesday, experts in body language pointed out notable nonverbal cues that could provide insight into their demeanors during the meeting. Continue reading “What body language experts saw when Trump and Kim Jong Un met”

What ‘DO NOT CONGRATULATE’ says about Trump — and the peril of meeting Kim Jong Un

The following article by Aaron Blake was posted on the Washington Post website March 21, 2018:

President Trump also said that he will discuss what he described as an “arms race” with President Putin. (The Washington Post)

President Trump announced two weeks ago that he would hold an unprecedented summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. On Tuesday, Trump reminded us just how awry that meeting could go.

The Washington Post is reporting that Trump was given key talking points for his call with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday and that he disregarded just about all of them. He was not supposed to congratulate Putin on his allegedly unfair and undemocratic reelection win — his notes even had “DO NOT CONGRATULATE” in all caps — and yet he did. And he was supposed to condemn Russia’s alleged role in the nerve-agent attack on a former Russian spy in Britain, and yet he did not. Continue reading “What ‘DO NOT CONGRATULATE’ says about Trump — and the peril of meeting Kim Jong Un”

Arrogant And Ignorant, Trump Is Making The World More Dangerous

The following article by Joe Conason was posted on the National Memo website March 14, 2018:

Representative Mike Pompeo (R-KS) testifies before a Senate Intelligence hearing on his nomination to head the CIA on Capitol Hill in Washington January 12, 2017. REUTERS/Carlos Barria

This planet just became a more dangerous place to live.

It may not have seemed so last week, when Donald Trump agreed to meet Kim Jong Un for negotiations over North Korea’s nuclear arsenal. Trump’s abrupt diplomatic offer was certainly an improvement on his jeering, boasting, and threatening on Twitter — even if he doesn’t understand that he gave away exactly what the dictator wanted most, without getting anything in return. The prospect of talks is almost always preferable to the possibility of war, which is why previous presidents consistently sought ways to engage the hereditary despots in Pyongyang Continue reading “Arrogant And Ignorant, Trump Is Making The World More Dangerous”