One of Trump’s favorite dictators just slammed the door on working with him in 2nd term
Las month, President-elect Donald Trump lavished praise on North Korean dictator Kim Jong-Un at a campaign rally, saying he was "streetwise" and "at the top of [his] game." But Kim is still reportedly turning a cold shoulder to the incoming administration.
According to the Wall Street Journal, Kim has indicated he's not interested in working with Trump in his second term despite their past friendliness toward each other. The 40 year-old authoritarian leader said at a recent military conference in the North Korean capital of Pyongyang that he is not interested in any partnership with the United States due to its "unchanging aggressive and hostile policy" toward the hermit kingdom.
"We have already explored every possible avenue in negotiating with the U.S.," Kim said.
READ MORE: Trump told top aides he wanted the same kind of 'totally loyal' generals 'that Hitler had'
The Journal reported that Kim isn't likely to lobby Trump to ease the ongoing sanctions the U.S. has imposed on North Korea in the past, due to his deeper relationship with Russian President Vladimir Putin. And the paper further reported that as a member of the all-important United Nations Security Council, Putin is able to provide Kim "cover" by vetoing any resolution that could harm Kim's regime and by providing North Korea with access to more modern military technology.
Kim and Putin's relationship has resulted in North Korea providing Russia with additional infantry in its war with Ukraine, and Newsweek reported that Putin reciprocated Kim's troop reinforcements with air defense missiles and economic support. Asia security analyst Sean King told the outlet "that could be only part of" the benefits Kim receives from partnering with Putin.
"Remember, Vladimir Putin had already done Kim Jong Un a huge favor earlier this year by vetoing the continuation of the United Nations Panel of Experts on North Korea sanctions. For that, Kim should be eternally grateful to the former KGB agent," King said. "Other forms of Russian payback could include oil shipments, satellite technology transfers and the like. I fear Moscow-Pyongyang relations sadly have many unfortunate depths left to plumb."
Trump suggested on the campaign trail that Kim "misses" him as president, and that he would be better at reining in the hermit kingdom than President Joe Biden's administration. He said that they "fell in love" with each other after exchanging "beautiful" and "excellent" letters with each other during his first term in the White House. Trump's Homeland Security secretary-designate Kristi Noem may have fabricated a supposed meeting with Kim in her memoir, and wouldn't say definitively whether she actually met with him.
READ MORE: 'I'm not talking about that meeting': Noem implies she may have met with Kim Jong-Un
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