Trump Says North Korea 'Sort of Nuclear Power,' Open to Meet Kim Jong Un

News Summary

President Trump said he would be open to meeting Kim Jong Un during his Asian trip, telling reporters aboard Air Force One.

When asked whether he would recognize North Korea as a nuclear state, he replied, “I think they’re sort of a nuclear power… they’ve got a lot of nuclear weapons, I’ll say that.”

Commentary

As mentioned several times before, we must distinguish between Trump’s diplomatic rhetoric and his actual policy.

Trump’s responses to reporters’ questions are often spontaneous and not always fully aligned with his administration’s official stance.

For instance, when he said that North Korea is “sort of a nuclear power,” it didn’t necessarily mean that the U.S. would formally recognize North Korea’s nuclear status.

This is a typical example of Trump’s diplomatic rhetoric—used as a tool to draw Kim Jong Un to the negotiating table, not as an end in itself.

The most important thing to keep in mind is that Kim Jong Un now fully understands Trump’s tactics and the reality behind them. He learned that lesson the hard way—with significant humiliation—from his summits with Trump during Trump’s first term.

Kim is unlikely to risk meeting Trump at the DMZ during Trump’s visit to South Korea unless Trump can guarantee recognition of North Korea’s nuclear status. Kim cannot afford another public humiliation in front of his own people.