One of the most striking images of the first presidency of Donald Trump (2017-2021) was the handshake with North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un, at a 2018 Singapore meeting, but the republican agent’s conversations with Pyongyang tyrant did not evolve to a communist dictatorship denuclearization agreement, as the United States wanted.
In his second term, which began in January, Trump has been prioritizing other themes on his international agenda: the war between Russia and Ukraine, a new nuclear agreement with Iran, Israel, the tariff dispute.
In the background in the concerns of the president of the United States, North Korea has taken the opportunity to accelerate missile tests, according to a newly council for the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS).
The American Think Tank has accounted for such testing numbers by Pyongyang during the first 100 days of government from all US presidents since Richard Nixon (1969-74).
Between January 20 and April 30, when the second Trump management reached the Centenary brand in days, North Korea performed five missile tests. It is the second largest level in the first 100 days of a new US government since 1969 – the record is the first Trump management, when Pyongyang did eight tests.
In the case of the Republican, CSIS compiled separate data because their mandates were not consecutive, unlike the other US presidents who have had more than one term in the last 56 years.
In the first hundred days of George W. Bush’s governments (US president between 2001 and 2009), George HW Bush (1989-1993), Ronald Reagan (1981-1989) and Jimmy Carter (1977-1981), North Korea did not perform missile tests.
At the beginning of the governments of Barack Obama (2009-2017), Bill Clinton (1993-2001) and Gerald Ford (1974-1977), only one test occurred in each; In the first hundred days of Joe Biden management (2021-2025), they were two; And at the beginning of the Nixon government, three.
In its report, however, the CSIS pointed out that North Korea’s provocations have not been summed up to missile tests.
“In the early hundred days of Trump’s second presidency, Kim’s North Korea discreetly performed five missile tests, stole $ 1.5 billion in cryptocurrencies, sent 3,000 soldiers to Russia to fight in the brutal war of (Vladimir) Putin in Ukraine and revealed his greatest modern missile fatherlaw, the Choe Hyon,” warned the Choe Hyon. American Think Tank.
“Trump’s ability to resume relationships with Kim will be harmed by the deepening of Kim’s relations with Russia and the collapse of the UN sanction regime,” said CSIS, noting that the West’s economic punishments are not enough to curb his militarist verve.
The provocation was to the point that North Korea criticized in May the Golden Dome Trump project, a satellite and missile system capable of detecting and intercepting attacks on the American territory that should be in operation by the beginning of 2029.
The Pyongyang Foreign Ministry called the project “Cumulation of Hypocrisy and Arrogance” and accused the United States of “determined” to “militarizing outer space” and generating the risk of “a global nuclear and spatial arms race”.
Despite the challenging speech, the release in May of Choe Hyon, quoted by CSIS and who was personally accompanied by Kim, was marked by a serious accident when he partially turned, which left the dictator furious.
“Kim Jong-un made a severe assessment, stating that it was a serious accident and a criminal act caused by absolute negligence, irresponsibility and anti-cinientific empiricism, and could not be tolerated,” said state agency KCNA.
Last week, US researchers who analyzed satellite images stated that Choe Hyon had apparently been replaced in the upright position.
Days later, new satellite images showed that the fresherkimer was in a dry dock in the port of Rajin, part of Rason’s special economic zone on the border with Russia.
South Korean Admiral Kim Duk-Ki told CNN that North Korea will probably need help from partner countries to repair the vessel, as the Sonar Sonar system has been damaged and North Korea does not have this technology-thus, traveling close to the border with Russia indicates that Moscow will help with repairs.
Expert says North Korea is not the same as Trump’s first term
For now, Trump management does not seem to be in a hurry to resume conversations with Pyongyang. At the end of April, a high US government official told Axios that the White House was maintaining discrete discussions and consulting external experts about the options to resume dialogue with North Korea.
“We are calling agencies to understand the current situation of North Koreans. Many has changed in the last four years (Biden Management period). We are evaluating, diagnosing and discussing possible ways, including engagement,” said the official. However, since then, there has been no news on the subject.
In an article for the website specializing in World Politics Review Geopolitics, Theresa Lou, a former advisor on questions from the Indo-Pacific region for the United States representation in the United Nations, made the same diagnosis as the Axios: North Korea is not the same as the first Trump management.
“At that time, international pressure on Pyongyang was undoubtedly at its peak and provided a crucial tool for Trump’s diplomacy at the level of leadership. Today’s world is very different,” Lou wrote.
“The UN Security Council is paralyzed by a geopolitical impasse. Russia has joined China with Pyongyang’s active protection against international condemnation and sanctions pressure. And North Korea has become more financially and militarily at a time when US alliances with other countries are tense,” he warned.