(Deutsche Welle Chinese website) Trump has repeatedly expressed his willingness to meet his "friend" Kim Jong-un again, saying that he is "probably the only person in the world who is liked by Kim Jong-un." However, Kim Jong-un seems unsympathetic and has not responded to his warm invitation so far. Can former NBA star Dennis Rodman help bring Kim Jong Un back?
On Thursday (October 1), Trump gave a speech at a truck factory in Denton, Texas, and then went to Durant, Oklahoma to attend a campaign rally. Rodman appeared in his entourage. Officials did not say why Rodman was there, but he has some local ties - he spent his early college basketball career in Durant.
It is said that Kim Jong-un "loves basketball" and Rodman was invited to visit North Korea many times and met with Kim Jong-un and his family.
"When we have a problem and I want to know about Kim Jong Un — and I get along great with Kim Jong Un — the person who actually knows Kim Jong Un best is Dennis Rodman," Trump told workers at the Peterbilt plant in Denton.
Not far away, Rodman was sitting in the back of a semi-truck. The Basketball Hall of Famer wore a black Chicago Bulls hat and studded black jeans with a top emblazoned with a graphic of himself lifting the trophy.
Rodman then boarded the presidential motorcade and headed north to Oklahoma. He told Reuters that he wanted to talk to Trump about "life." Asked if he would travel to North Korea in the near future, the basketball star replied: "If you buy me a plane ticket."
Trump frequently expresses goodwill, but Kim Jong-un refuses to accept it
Trump held three high-profile meetings with Kim during his first term, including one at the Demilitarized Zone on the Korean peninsula. Although he has achieved nothing in preventing North Korea from developing nuclear weapons, Trump still wants to see this "friend" again.
In August this year, Trump announced that the US military would scale back joint military exercises between the US and South Korea, saying that the exercises were a "great insult" to Kim Jong-un.
Kim Jong-un's sister, Kim Yo-jong, director of the Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea, said Trump's decision was "not worthy of comment" and that North Korea had "no interest in it."
Trump also announced that he has been in contact with Kim Jong-un and that the two will meet later this year.
Media reports indicate that the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit to be held in Shenzhen, China, from November 18 to 19, may become a suitable venue for a face-to-face meeting between Trump and Kim Jong-un.
Kim Yo Jong said Pyongyang was "completely unaware" of the plans for the talks.
Trump, who is prone to anger when dealing with European leaders, seemed unfazed. "He likes Trump, but he doesn't like a lot of other people," Trump told reporters at the White House on Tuesday. "I'm probably the only person in the world that he likes, and I like him."
The Economist: It’s better not to meet each other or be fooled
According to the New York Times, South Korean President Lee Jae-myung made a bold claim in an interview earlier this month: The world should lift or relax severe economic sanctions on North Korea in exchange for North Korea halting its nuclear weapons program. The idea challenges decades of official U.S. policy that relies heavily on pressure to get Pyongyang to abandon its nuclear program. Lee Jae-myung has promoted this strategy directly to Trump.
The Economist commented that such a transaction would face three problems. First, this will further disintegrate the remaining international nuclear non-proliferation system; second, Kim Jong-un is not trustworthy and will tear up the agreement at the right time after signing it; third, it is Trump’s own problem: the agreement with North Korea is too technical and may not be suitable for this president.
The conclusion of the article is: It is better to let Trump’s friend in Pyongyang continue to like and respect him - just from a distance.
