Trump aide: Kim may have reconsidered ‘gift’
WASHINGTON — North Korean leader Kim Jong Un may have reconsidered his planned “Christmas gift” to the U.S. amid ongoing high-level personal diplomacy by President Donald Trump, national security adviser Robert O’Brien said.
“Multiple administrations, Republican and Democrat, have dealt with this situation without success over the years,” Mr. O’Brien said Sunday of North Korea on ABC’s “This Week.” “President Trump took a different tack with personal diplomacy, and so far we’ve had some success.”
“They have a good relationship personally,” Mr. O’Brien added of Mr. Trump and Mr. Kim. “So perhaps he’s reconsidered that, but we’ll have to wait and see.”
Mr. O’Brien, a former hostage envoy and Mr. Trump’s fourth national security adviser, warned that the U.S. is ready to respond should Mr. Kim fire additional long-range missiles or conduct further nuclear weapons tests.
“We’ll reserve judgment, but the United States will take action as we do in these situations,” Mr. O’Brien said. “If Kim Jong Un takes that approach, we’ll be extraordinarily disappointed, and we’ll demonstrate that disappointment.”
Mr. Trump has touted his outreach to Pyongyang and his personal ties to Mr. Kim as triumphs. Mr. Kim and Mr. Trump have met three times — a first for any sitting U.S. president — and the two regularly praise each other.
Mr. O’Brien declined to discuss whether Washington and Pyongyang have had recent discussions beyond noting that “channels of communication” were open. Time will tell whether Mr. Trump’s approach works, he said.
But Sen. Ben Cardin, DMd., said he’s seen little progress from that approach and that Mr. Kim needs to announce that he plans to give up his nuclear weapons.
While Mr. Trump in 2018 claimed that North Korea was “no longer a nuclear threat” and that he and Mr. Kim “fell in love,” a deal between the two countries has remained elusive. Neither side can agree on the terms of disarmament or U.S.-imposed economic sanctions. Meanwhile, the Asian nation has continued to conduct missile tests and build its nuclear arsenal.
North Korea suggested a “Christmas gift” would be forthcoming after demanding additional concessions as part of the stalled nuclear talks. Earlier this year, Mr. Kim’s regime set a Dec. 31 deadline for a breakthrough. Mr. Trump has downplayed any threat, saying on Christmas Eve that the U.S. will “deal with it” and joking that Mr. Kim’s “gift” could be a “beautiful vase.”