On Thursday, North Korea launched two short-range ballistic missiles in the morning and the U.S. seized a North Korean vessel for violating international sanctions later in the day, underscoring the increased bilateral tensions after President Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un's failed peace summit in February. "Nobody's happy about it," Trump told reporters Thursday. "They're talking about negotiating, but I don't think they're ready to negotiate."
But the relationship between Kim and Trump is still warm, The Washington Post reports:
Last month, Trump sent Kim a "happy birthday" letter commemorating the birth date of his grandfather, Kim Il Sung, and expressed interest in future engagements following the collapse of their meeting in February in Hanoi."He sends him pictures. He sends him letters. I don't know how President Trump can be more forthcoming in his efforts to have a good relationship with Kim Jong Un," National Security Adviser John Bolton told PBS NewsHour. In building a rapport, Trump and Kim have talked about basketball, pop culture and even video games, U.S. officials said, while slapping down hawkish advisers who disappoint them. [The Washington Post]
On May 4, right after Kim ended a 500-day pause in missile launches, Trump tweeted that Kim "knows that I am with him & does not want to break his promise to me. Deal will happen." To salvage a deal, Trump and Kim have given dovishness a chance, the Post reports.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Trump's main North Korea dove is Steve Biegun, a former Ford executive. In April, Kim demoted his hard-line denuclearization point man Kim Yong Chol and elevated Vice Premier Choe Son Hui, a diplomat with experience negotiating with the U.S., the Post reports. Kim also ordered Choe to criticize Trump's main hawks, and Trump joined in, gently, on Thursday: "John's very good," and "he has strong views on things, but that's okay. I actually temper John, which is pretty amazing isn't it?" Read more details at The Washington Post.
-
Trump picks conservative BLS critic to lead BLSspeed read He has nominated the Heritage Foundation's E.J. Antoni to lead the Bureau of Labor Statistics
-
Trump takes over DC police, deploys National GuardSpeed Read The president blames the takeover on rising crime, though official figures contradict this concern
-
Trump sends FBI to patrol DC, despite falling crimeSpeed Read Washington, D.C., 'has become one of the most dangerous cities anywhere in the world,' Trump said
-
Trump officials reinstating 2 Confederate monumentsSpeed Read The administration has plans to 'restore Confederate names and symbols' discarded in the wake of George Floyd's 2020 murder
-
Trump nominates Powell critic for vacant Fed seatspeed read Stephen Miran, the chair of Trump's Council of Economic Advisers and a fellow critic of Fed chair Jerome Powell, has been nominated to fill a seat on the Federal Reserve Board of Governors
-
ICE scraps age limits amid hiring pushSpeed Read Anyone 18 or older can now apply to be an ICE agent
-
Trump's global tariffs take effect, with new additionsSpeed Read Tariffs on more than 90 US trading partners went into effect, escalating the global trade war
-
House committee subpoenas Epstein filesSpeed Read The House Oversight Committee has issued a subpoena to the Justice Department for its Jeffrey Epstein files with an Aug. 19 deadline
