Trump mentions Kim Jong Un while skipping over S. Korea

President-elect Donald Trump said on December 16 that he "got along well" with Kim Jong-un while referring to the North Korean leader. This follows his earlier remark in an interview with Time magazine, where Trump claimed to be "the only one to have properly dealt with Kim." Trump mentioned Kim again during his first press conference since the November 5 election. However, there was no mention of South Korea throughout the entire event. Concerns are growing that as the Trump administration's second term begins next month, the U.S. may bypass South Korea, which is currently facing a leadership vacuum due to the president’s impeachment crisis, and instead engage directly with North Korea on nuclear negotiations.

During the press conference at his Mar-a-Lago Resort in Palm Beach, Florida, Trump expressed his intent to quickly meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to facilitate a swift end to the war. He also hinted at a possible meeting with Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba before his January 20 inauguration. Trump referenced Chinese President Xi Jinping as well, noting they "got along well" until the COVID-19 outbreak.

Notably, Trump held a joint press conference with SoftBank CEO Masayoshi Son, a Japan-based businessman of Korean descent, emphasizing that SoftBank would invest 100 billion U.S. dollars (approximately 140 trillion KRW) in the United States over the next four years and create at least 100,000 jobs.


Jin-Woo Shin niceshin@donga.com