North Korea views Donald Trump‘s potential return to the White House as a “once-in-a-thousand-year chance” to advance its nuclear ambitions and diplomatic leverage.
Ri Il Kyu, the highest-ranking defector to flee North Korea since 2016, met with Kim Jong Un on seven separate occasions, reported BBC.
The former diplomat, who was stationed in Cuba when he fled with his family to South Korea last November, recalls “shivering with nerves” during his first meeting with Kim. However, in each of their meetings, he observed Kim to be “smiling and in a good mood.”
In his first interview with an international broadcaster, Ri offers a rare glimpse into the ambitions of one of the world’s most secretive and repressive states.
He asserts that North Korea still sees Trump as a potential negotiating partner for its nuclear weapons program despite talks with Kim collapsing in 2019.
Trump has previously praised his relationship with Kim as a major achievement, even claiming they “fell in love” through their letters. Last month, he suggested at a rally that Kim would prefer him back in office, saying, “I think he misses me, if you want to know the truth,” BBC added.
According to Ri, North Korea aims to leverage its close personal ties with Trump, despite Pyongyang’s official claim last month that it “did not care” about the U.S. presidential election.
He suggests that North Korea is unlikely to abandon its nuclear weapons but might negotiate a freeze on its nuclear program in exchange for sanctions relief from the U.S.
Ri contends that North Korea views its recent alliance with Russia, bolstered by the Ukraine war, as advantageous. He reveals that Pyongyang has sold millions of rounds of ammunition to Moscow, gaining food, fuel, and potentially military technology in return.
This arrangement, according to Ri, has primarily benefited North Korea by enabling it to further develop its nuclear weapons program.
“North Korea understands that the only path to its survival, the only way to eliminate the threat of invasion and develop its economy, is to normalise relations with the United States,” Ri says.
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