North Korea
For decades North Korea has been one of the world's most secretive societies. It is one of the few countries still under nominally communist rule. North Korea's nuclear ambitions have exacerbated its rigidly maintained isolation from the rest of the world. The country emerged in 1948 amid the chaos following the end of the Second World War. Its history is dominated by its Great Leader, Kim Il-sung, who shaped political affairs for almost half a century. Decades of this rigid state-controlled system have led to stagnation and a leadership dependent on the cult of personality. The totalitarian state also stands accused of systematic human rights abuses. The current leader of North Korea is Kim Jong-un, the grandson of Kim Il-sung. He succeeded his father Kim Jong-il in 2011. (Source: BBC)
Timeline
2016.06.01 North Korea praises Trump for threatening to withdraw troops from South Korea. nytimes.com (See also South Korea) 2016.11.10 Trump pledges commitment to defending South Korea under existing security alliance reuters.com (See also South Korea) 2017.01.25 Trump is readying executive orders to stem refugees from ‘terror-prone’ regions and on the U.N. to halt funding for any organizations that give full membership to the Palestinian Authority, supports abortion programs or evades international sanctions against Iran or North Korea. washingtontimes.com (See also First 100 Days, Immigration, Syria, United Nations, Iran) 2017.02.03 U.S. Defense Secretary James Mattis says any use of nuclear weapons by North Korea would be met with an "overwhelming" response. bbc.com (See also James Mattis) 2017.02.13 Nikki Haley responds to North Korean ballistic missile launch with a statement at the U.N.: "We call on all members of the Security Council to use every available resource to make it clear to the North Korean regime, and its enablers, that these launches are unacceptable." The phrase "enablers" refers to China and is seen as an unusually public criticism. cnn.com (See also Nikki Haley, United Nations) 2017.02.13 North Korea claims missile test success as China rejects US criticism theguardian.com (See also First 100 Days, China) 2017.02.13 The Pentagon has assessed that North Korea's weekend ballistic missile launch showed new capabilities. The launch involved the first land-based test of an intermediate-range missile that, in the past, has been fired from a submarine. It flew farther than any previous North Korean tests, about 300 miles before dropping into the Sea of Japan. cnn.com (See also United Nations) 2017.02.13 Trump was in the Mar-a-Lago Club terrace with the Japanese prime minister when news broke that North Korea had test-fired a ballistic missile and rather than move to a secure location he turns the dining room into open-air situation room. washingtonpost.com (See also Japan, First 100 Days) 2017.02.26 Informal talks scheduled for next week between a North Korean delegation and a team of former U.S. officials are canceled after the Trump administration withdraws its initial approval of the North Koreans' visas, two people who had planned to participate said. cnn.com 2017.03.09 Nikki Haley rebuffed a proposal from China that the U.S. “apply the brakes” to an escalating standoff with North Korea, saying “positive action” was required before it would engage with the “irresponsible” Kim Jong Un. washingtonpost.com (See also China, Nikki Haley) 2017.03.17 Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said pre-emptive military action was "on the table" if the threat from the North's weapons program reached a level requiring it. bbc.com (See also Rex Tillerson) 2017.04.03 Nikki Haley says Trump will pressure China to respond to ballistic missile launches by North Korea. reuters.com (See also China, Nikki Haley) 2017.04.03 Trump says, "If China is not going to solve North Korea, we will. That is all I am telling you." bbc.com 2017.06.07 North Korea has condemned Trump for pulling the United States out of the Paris agreement on climate change, dubbing it a “shortsighted and silly decision.” washingtonpost.com (See also Climate Change, Environment) 2017.07.22 Congress agrees on a bill to impose sanctions on Russia, Iran, and North Korea, posing a difficult veto dilemma for Trump. washingtonpost.com (See also Russia, Iran, Foreign Policy, Trump Relationship with Russia) 2017.08.03 Trump blamed Congress for the United States’ poor relationship with Russia, a day after he signed sanctions legislation that he said was flawed and unconstitutional. nytimes.com (See also Unpresidential Behavior, Russia, Assaults on Government, Iran, Russian Meddling in Election) 2017.08.08 Trump's retweet of a Fox News story claiming US satellites detected North Korea moving anti-ship cruise missiles to a patrol boat raised concerns after US Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley indicated that the information in the report is classified and was leaked. cnn.com (See also Unprecedented Actions, Nikki Haley) 2017.08.09 Despite Trump's tweet claiming that his first order as president was to renovate and modernize the nuclear arsenal, experts called his statement "completely false," "a total lie," "patently absurd," and "misleading." buzzfeed.com (See also False Statements) 2017.08.12 While Guam is being threatened by nuclear attack from North Korea, Trump told their president that they don't need to worry, since their tourism will boost tenfold. nytimes.com (See also Unpresidential Behavior) 2017.08.16 White House chief strategist Steve Bannon told associates he never intended to do an "interview" with an editor at the American Prospect, a left-wing publication. axios.com (See also Steve Bannon, John Kelly) 2017.09.18 Donald Trump’s tweet about long gas lines in North Korea has residents puzzled, as there are no lines at the few service stations in Pyongyang, a city of about 2 million people. washingtonpost.com (See also False Statements) 2017.09.19 In a dark, terrorism-focused speech at the UN, Donald Trump said, "We will have no choice but to totally destroy North Korea. Rocket Man" — his name for Kim Jong Un — "is on a suicide mission for himself and for his regime." buzzfeed.com (See also Unpresidential Behavior) 2017.09.22 Senior aides to Donald Trump repeatedly warned him not to deliver a personal attack on North Korea’s leader at the United Nations this week, saying insulting the young despot in such a prominent venue could irreparably escalate tensions and shut off any chance for negotiations to defuse the nuclear crisis. latimes.com (See also Unpresidential Behavior, Foreign Policy) 2017.09.24 The Trump administration announced new restrictions on visitors from eight countries — an expansion of an existing travel ban that has spurred fierce legal debates over security, immigration and discrimination, adding Chad, North Korea and Venezuela to the new indefinite ban. washingtonpost.com (See also Muslim Immigration Ban, Racism, Nationalism, Foreign Policy, Iran) 2017.09.29 Two months after signing it, Donald Trump has not begun enforcing a law imposing new sanctions on Russia, Iran and North Korea, Senators John McCain and Ben Cardin, and with just two days to go, his administration has not provided information related to Russia’s defense and intelligence sectors required under the measure. reuters.com (See also Russia, Iran) 2017.10.01 Donald Trump undercut his own secretary of state, calling his effort to open lines of communication with North Korea a waste of time, and seeming to rule out a diplomatic resolution to the nuclear-edged confrontation with Pyongyang, just a day after Secretary of State Rex W. Tillerson said he was reaching out in hopes of starting a new dialogue. nytimes.com (See also Rex Tillerson, Department of State, Unpresidential Behavior, Nuclear Weapons) 2017.10.08 Senator Bob Corker, the Republican chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, charged in an interview on Sunday that President Trump was treating his office like “a reality show,” with reckless threats toward other countries that could set the nation “on the path to World War III.” nytimes.com (See also Unpresidential Behavior, Iran, False Statements, Rex Tillerson, James Mattis, John Kelly) 2017.10.11 Donald Trump said he wanted what amounted to a nearly tenfold increase in the U.S. nuclear arsenal during a gathering this past summer of the nation’s highest-ranking national security leaders, leading to Secretary of State Rex Tillerson calling him a "moron." nbcnews.com (See also Rex Tillerson, Foreign Policy, Department of State, Iran, Afghanistan, Mike Pence, Steven Mnuchin) 2017.10.13 European leaders pushed back sharply Friday against Donald Trump’s decision to strip White House backing from the Iran nuclear deal, saying the move would weaken U.S. credibility, drive a wedge within the Western alliance and hurt global efforts to address dangers from Tehran to North Korea. washingtonpost.com (See also Foreign Policy, Iran, Unprecedented Actions) 2017.10.17 A federal judge largely blocked the Trump administration from implementing the latest version of their travel ban, which was set to bar various types of travelers from Syria, Libya, Iran, Yemen, Chad, Somalia, North Korea and Venezuela. washingtonpost.com (See also Legal Issues, Immigration, Muslim Immigration Ban, Syria, Iran) 2017.11.14 Congressional lawmakers raised concerns about Donald Trump's ability to use nuclear weapons during a hearing Capitol Hill amid bipartisan anxiety over launch process procedures and indications that the administration has considered the option of a first strike on North Korea. cnn.com (See also Unprecedented Actions) 2017.12.04 Germans see Trump as bigger problem than North Korea or Russia. reuters.com (See also Trump Effect, Foreign Policy, Russia) 2018.01.02 Donald Trump again raised the prospect of nuclear war with North Korea, boasting in playground terms that he commands a “much bigger” and “more powerful” arsenal of devastating weapons than the outlier government in Asia. nytimes.com (See also Unpresidential Behavior, National Defense, Nuclear Weapons) 2018.01.09 The Trump administration plans to loosen constraints on the use of nuclear weapons and develop a new low-yield nuclear warhead for US Trident missiles. theguardian.com (See also Nuclear Weapons, National Defense, Russia, China) 2018.02.18 Amid global anxiety about Donald Trump’s approach to world affairs, U.S. officials had a message for a gathering of Europe’s foreign policy elite this weekend: Pay no attention to the man tweeting behind the curtain. washingtonpost.com (See also H.R. McMaster, Russia, Unpresidential Behavior) 2018.03.08 North Korea’s leader, Kim Jong-un, has invited Donald Trump to meet for negotiations over its nuclear program. nytimes.com (See also Foreign Policy) 2018.03.13 Donald Trump has fired Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and plans to nominate CIA Director Mike Pompeo to replace him as the nation’s top diplomat, orchestrating a major change to his national security team amid delicate outreach such as possible talks with North Korea. washingtonpost.com (See also Resignations and Dismissals, Rex Tillerson, Department of State, Mike Pompeo) 2018.05.24 Donald Trump, citing a flurry of hostile statements from North Korea, pulled out of a highly anticipated summit meeting with Kim Jong-un. nytimes.com (See also Foreign Policy, Reversals) 2018.06.06 As disaster officials gathered at Federal Emergency Management Agency headquarters days after the start of the 2018 season, Donald Trump had a lot else on his mind, turning the closed-door discussion into soliloquies on his prowess in negotiating airplane deals, his popularity, the effectiveness of his political endorsements, the Republican Party’s fortunes, the vagaries of Defense Department purchasing guidelines, his dislike of magnetized launch equipment on aircraft carriers, his unending love of coal and his breezy optimism about his planned Singapore summit with North Korea. washingtonpost.com (See also False Statements, Department of Defense) 2018.06.07 National security adviser John Bolton has yet to convene a Cabinet-level meeting to discuss Donald Trump’s upcoming summit with North Korea next week, a striking break from past practice that suggests the Trump White House is largely improvising its approach to the unprecedented nuclear talks. politico.com (See also Nuclear Weapons) 2018.06.12 Donald Trump’s pledge to North Korea to cancel military exercises on the Korean Peninsula surprised not only allies in South Korea but also the Pentagon, as American troops in Seoul said they are still moving ahead with a military exercise this fall — Ulchi Freedom Guardian — until they receive guidance otherwise from the chain of command. nytimes.com (See also Administration Errors, Department of Defense) 2018.06.13 Fact-checking Donald Trump's claims about the North Korea deal washingtonpost.com (See also False Statements, Fact-Checking Resources) 2018.06.26 North Korea has continued to upgrade its only known nuclear reactor used to fuel its weapons program, satellite imagery has shown, despite ongoing negotiations with the US and a pledge to denuclearise. theguardian.com (See also False Statements) 2018.07.11 Secretary of State Mike Pompeo's overnight visit to Pyongyang last week failed to demonstrate any progress on denuclearization talks, leading one source with knowledge of the discussions to say the White House felt it went "as badly as it could have gone." cnn.com (See also Department of State, Reversals, Mike Pompeo) 2018.07.19 Donald Trump's military parade in DC, currently scheduled for November 10th, is likely to cost nearly as much as the now canceled military exercise with South Korea that Trump called "tremendously expensive" and said cost "a fortune." cnn.com (See also Fascism, Hypocrisy) 2018.07.31 North Korea has continued its work on missile and weapons programs since Donald Trump said that the North Korea nuclear threat was over, including manufacturing new intercontinental ballistic missiles at a facility near Pyongyang, the capital, according to one Defense Department official, and they also continue to produce nuclear fuel, according to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo. nytimes.com (See also Mike Pompeo, Department of Defense, Department of State, Nuclear Weapons) 2018.08.04 North Korea’s top diplomat accused the United States of failing to live up to Donald Trump’s agreement with its leader, Kim Jong-un, warning that the country would not start denuclearizing unless Washington took reciprocal actions. nytimes.com (See also Nuclear Weapons) 2018.12.11 Donald Trump continues to reject the judgments of U.S. spy agencies on major foreign policy fronts, creating a dynamic in which intelligence analysts frequently see troubling gaps between the president’s public statements and the facts laid out for him in daily briefings on world events. washingtonpost.com (See also Assaults on Facts, Assaults on Government, Fascism, Russia, China) 2018.12.20 North Korea said it will never unilaterally give up its nuclear weapons unless the United States first removes what Pyongyang called a nuclear threat - a surprisingly blunt statement at odds with Seoul’s rosier presentation of the North Korean position which could rattle the fragile trilateral diplomacy to defuse a nuclear crisis that last year had many fearing war. apnews.com (See also Nuclear Weapons)
Analysis
Assessments
In an opinion piece for The New York Times entitled Trump and North Korea: A Looming Foreign Policy Crisis, Joel S. Wit (Senior Fellow at the US-Korea Institue, Johns Hopkins SAIS, and founder of 38North) writes:
The reality of the past eight years is that North Korea has methodically plotted and implemented a strategy of building missiles and warheads using the political shield of China, a country unwilling to impose crippling sanctions sought by the United States. The United States, on the other hand, was either too busy paying attention to other international problems or too misinformed to realize that China was not going to carry Washington’s water. As a result, the North Korean W.M.D. cancer was essentially left to metastasize. We have now reached another critical moment.
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We may be on the cusp of the Trump administration’s first major foreign policy crisis, with last Sunday’s missile test only the first in a series of missile and nuclear weapons tests. Unless Washington quickly formulates a strategy for dealing with Pyongyang — that includes not only sanctions and protecting our allies but diplomatic outreach to the North — it is going to be a rough ride.