Trump-Kim-Moon: Back to Square One?

Two years after the summits Kim Jong-un attended with Donald Trump and Moon Jae-in, respectively, the three states are almost back to square one. Initially, there was great optimism that it would be possible to dismantle the North Korean nuclear and missile program and achieve peace among all three parties—but misunderstandings by Washington, Pyongyang, and Seoul of one another’s goals led to the failure of the process.

Media Frenzy Notwithstanding, Kim Jong-un Is Apparently Still Alive

Kim Jong-un was mysteriously absent from both the state event of Kim Il-sung’s birthday on April 15, 2020 and the celebration of Korean People’s Army Day on April 25, 2020. This set off a media frenzy about the state of his health. Social media quickly divided into two camps: one claiming he was either dead or in a vegetative state, and the other claiming it was all fake news motivated by anti-North Korean ideology. On May 1, 2020, pictures and video clips were broadcast on North Korean media of Kim Jong-un attending a ceremony, so he appears—if appearances can be trusted—to be alive.

President Trump, North Korea, and Israel’s Nuclear Strategy

Although concerns about a Trump confrontation with a nuclear North Korea are widespread, there has been little corollary discussion of crisis implications for other parts of the world. Yet there are important spillover implications to be considered, specifically with reference to the Middle East and Israel's nuclear strategy.