What Has Trump Done to North Korea? Official State Outlets Respond with Silence After His Victory
North Korea's state media remains conspicuously quiet following Donald Trump’s victory in the recent U.S. presidential election.
According to Seoul-based Korea JoongAng Daily, “As of Thursday morning, North Korean media outlets Rodong Sinmun and Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) had no mention of the Nov. 5 U.S. election outcome.”
A South Korean Unification Ministry official confirmed this, saying, “We won’t prejudge but will monitor the situation closely, as North Korea has a history of delaying reporting on U.S. election results,” the outlet added.
This isn’t unprecedented. JoongAng Daily noted that North Korea waited 11 days to report Trump’s 2016 election win. However, considering Trump’s aggressive approach to North Korea during his first term, the silence is striking. Many would expect at least a typical fiery response from Pyongyang.
Trump’s relationship with North Korea was contentious from the start. Early in his presidency, he referred to Kim Jong-un as “Little Rocket Man.”
In 2018, Trump made headlines with a provocative tweet: “North Korean Leader Kim Jong Un just stated that the ‘Nuclear Button is on his desk at all times.’ Will someone from his depleted and food starved regime please inform him that I too have a Nuclear Button, but it is a much bigger & more powerful one than his, and my Button works!”
North Korean Leader Kim Jong Un just stated that the “Nuclear Button is on his desk at all times.” Will someone from his depleted and food starved regime please inform him that I too have a Nuclear Button, but it is a much bigger & more powerful one than his, and my Button works!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 3, 2018
Trump’s interactions with Kim marked historical firsts. The two leaders met in Singapore in June 2018 and again in Hanoi, Vietnam, in February 2019. However, Trump abruptly ended the Hanoi summit when nuclear talks stalled, CNN reported.
In June 2019, Trump became the first sitting U.S. president to cross the Demilitarized Zone into North Korea, where he met with Kim for a third time.
US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un shake hands at the demilitarized zone (DMZ), before both leaders step into North Korea https://t.co/nQM59lmTfV pic.twitter.com/MWaoPmjcH5
— CNN (@CNN) June 30, 2019
Trump’s “good cop / bad cop” strategy seemed effective, as North Korea refrained from testing long-range missiles from November 2017 through the end of his presidency, according to Reuters.
However, leading up to this year’s election, Kim resumed his provocations. On Nov. 1, the Associated Press reported that North Korea claimed to have launched a new intercontinental ballistic missile, calling it the “world’s strongest.”
“North Korean leader Kim Jong Un also ordered a series of ballistic missile tests in the lead-up to this month’s U.S. election and is claiming progress on efforts to build the capability to strike the U.S. mainland,” the AP reported.
Since Trump’s departure from office, North Korea has strengthened ties with Russia, including deploying 12,000 troops to Ukraine and supplying Russia with suicide drones and munitions.
In 2017, shortly after Trump took office, The New York Times reported that outgoing President Barack Obama warned him that North Korea’s nuclear and missile programs would be his most urgent national security challenge. Trump confronted the issue directly, forcing Kim to scale back his ambitions.
The current silence from Pyongyang might signal unease about Trump’s potential return to the White House, suggesting the regime may not be eager to face his confrontational policies again.