Trump's 'nuclear power' comments cloud U.S. stance on North Korea's status
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- SEO JI-EUN
- [email protected]
![President Donald Trump, right, signs numerous executive orders, including pardons for participants in the Jan. 6 riots and a delay on the TikTok ban, on the first day of his presidency in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington on Jan. 20. [UPI/YONHAP]](https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/data/photo/2025/01/21/273272ae-f375-4ed4-9227-a64c4438e2de.jpg)
President Donald Trump, right, signs numerous executive orders, including pardons for participants in the Jan. 6 riots and a delay on the TikTok ban, on the first day of his presidency in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington on Jan. 20. [UPI/YONHAP]
Donald Trump referred to North Korea as a “nuclear power,” again flaunting his personal rapport with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un on his first day in office as the 47th President of the United States on Monday.
“[Kim] is a nuclear power,” Trump said while referencing outgoing President Joe Biden’s assessment of threats during a press availability in the Oval Office following his inauguration speech in Washington. “We got along. I think he will be happy to see I’m coming back.”
While he frequently emphasized his "bromance" with Kim during his campaigns, this marked the first time Trump — who held three summits with Kim — explicitly referred to North Korea as a “nuclear power.”
Historically, U.S. officials have avoided using such terms to describe North Korea due to its specific implications under the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), which formally recognizes only five nations — China, France, Russia, Britain and the United States — as nuclear weapon states. Such a designation for North Korea, experts warn, risks legitimizing its illicit weapons program and undermining global nonproliferation efforts.
Trump’s comments followed similar language used by his nominee for secretary of defense, Pete Hegseth, who described North Korea as a “nuclear power” during his Senate confirmation hearing last week.
South Korea reacted cautiously.
“The comments are consistent with the Trump administration’s approach during its first term and remarks made during the campaign,” Seoul's Foreign Ministry said in a statement on Tuesday shared with the Korea JoongAng Daily. The ministry reiterated that North Korea "can never hold" nuclear status under the NPT and vowed to continue working closely with Washington to achieve denuclearization.
![President Donald Trump speaks after being sworn in during the inauguration of Donald Trump as the 47th president of the United States takes place inside the Capitol Rotunda of the U.S. Capitol building in Washington, D.C., on Jan. 20. [UPI/YONHAP]](https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/data/photo/2025/01/21/72683679-17e4-4a03-9f95-baff3e157f34.jpg)
President Donald Trump speaks after being sworn in during the inauguration of Donald Trump as the 47th president of the United States takes place inside the Capitol Rotunda of the U.S. Capitol building in Washington, D.C., on Jan. 20. [UPI/YONHAP]
Nuclear power vs. nuclear weapons state
Amid concerns that a second Trump term might signal a de facto departure from the longstanding U.S. goal of North Korean denuclearization, some experts point out that it is not uncommon for officials and analysts to note North Korea’s nuclear capabilities using unofficial terms like "nuclear-armed state" or "nuclear power."
“Use of these terms does not confer acceptance or acknowledgment of [North Korea] as a permanent nuclear state but rather notes that North Korea has tested and deployed nuclear weapons and incorporated their use into its military strategy,” Evans Revere, a former U.S. deputy assistant secretary of state and now a senior fellow at Brookings Institution, told the Korea JoongAng Daily on Tuesday. "Accordingly, I saw [recent references by Hegseth and Trump] as recognizing the reality of North Korea's capabilities, rather than conferring any new status on North Korea or ‘accepting’ [it] as a permanent nuclear state.”
![North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, right, and U.S. President Donald Trump prepare to shake hands at the border village of Panmunjom in the demilitarized zone (DMZ), South Korea, on June 30, 2019. [AP/YONHAP]](https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/data/photo/2025/01/21/5a4cccfd-03e9-4050-937e-c7d7dc0a4c4e.jpg)
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, right, and U.S. President Donald Trump prepare to shake hands at the border village of Panmunjom in the demilitarized zone (DMZ), South Korea, on June 30, 2019. [AP/YONHAP]
Resumption of North-U.S. rapport
Instead, Trump's references to the North following his inauguration may indicate his intent to reopen talks with Pyongyang — a possibility that has drawn concern about freezing North Korea's nukes over complete denuclearization.
At the Commander-in-Chief Ball later in the evening, Trump held a video call with U.S. Forces Korea (USFK) stationed in Camp Humphreys in Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi, his first talk with U.S. troops abroad.
“How are we doing over there? How’s Kim Jong-un doing?” he asked, adding, “Although I developed a pretty good relationship with him, he’s a tough cookie.”
Experts warn of potential risks should the United States engage North Korea in arms control talks.
South Korea’s National Intelligence Service (NIS) recently predicted that Trump, who views his previous summits with Kim as "key achievements of his first term," could seek further talks. The NIS suggested that if complete denuclearization remains unattainable in the short term, “small deals,” or smaller-scale agreements, such as nuclear freezes or disarmament deals, may be pursued between the two.
Kim, for his part, has long sought acknowledgment as a nuclear state. In recent speeches, Kim emphasized that North Korea’s nuclear capabilities are "irreversible" and that it would never give up the "pendulum of the military balance" it achieved.
“Doing so would effectively accept the North's nuclear status, especially since [North Korea] once suggested that the U.S. and [the North] engage in such talks 'as one nuclear power with another,’” Revere said.
Emphasizing North Korea's history of violating agreements, Revere questioned, “Why would it treat an arms control dialogue any differently, especially now that it has become a nuclear-armed state and it has made clear its intention to keep that status and enshrined that status in its constitution?”
Revere also cautioned against calls within the United States for an arms control approach, calling it "misguided and dangerous," an opinion with which "previous U.S. administrations tended to agree."
"It will be important to watch this issue carefully in case a new U.S. administration, eager to create the appearance of progress with North Korea, opts to go down this path,” he said.
In his inaugural address, Trump reaffirmed his commitment to ensuring that the United States is no longer being "taken advantage of," emphasizing increased allied contributions to defense.
While it is not yet clear how he will translate this theme into policy, Revere warned that going forward, U.S. allies, including South Korea, "should be prepared" for such demands for significant increases in "allied military burden-sharing commitments" or even "cash payments from allies in return for U.S. defense commitments."
![U.S. President-elect Donald Trump's nominee for Secretary of State, Sen. Marco Rubio testifies during his Senate Foreign Relations confirmation hearing at Dirksen Senate Office Building on Jan. 15 in Washington, D.C. [AFP/YONHAP]](https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/data/photo/2025/01/21/15578320-28e7-4310-b08f-ef1ff24d1582.jpg)
U.S. President-elect Donald Trump's nominee for Secretary of State, Sen. Marco Rubio testifies during his Senate Foreign Relations confirmation hearing at Dirksen Senate Office Building on Jan. 15 in Washington, D.C. [AFP/YONHAP]
Future of Seoul's diplomacy with Trump
Acting South Korean President Choi Sang-mok congratulated Trump on his inauguration on Tuesday, expressing optimism about bilateral relations.
Korea “looks forward to Making the Alliance Great Again in the 47th presidency,” Choi wrote in English on X, formerly Twitter, referencing Trump’s campaign slogan "Make America Great Again." Choi, also serving as the finance minister, pledged to push for a phone call at an early date and strengthen high-level communication with the new administration while exploring economic cooperation opportunities.
Meanwhile, Marco Rubio, known for his hawkish stance on China, was unanimously confirmed as secretary of state in a 99 to 0 vote, making him the first of Trump's Cabinet nominees to win the upper chamber's approval.
Rubio stressed the “appetite” for Washington to take a "very serious look” at North Korea policy to explore how to lower the risk of "inadvertent" war between the two Koreas without encouraging countries to seek their own nuclear arms during a Senate confirmation hearing last week.
BY SEO JI-EUN [[email protected]]
with the Korea JoongAng Daily
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