Accepting a nuclear North Korea was never US policy … until Trump 2.0?

Donald Trump’s convention-busting acknowledgement of North Korea as a nuclear power bucks years of US policy – and sets South Korea on edge

Reading Time:3 minutes

US President Donald Trump gestures as he meets North Korean leader Kim Jong-un at the start of their historic first summit in Singapore in 2018. Photo: AFP

Published: 9:30am, 22 Jan 2025Updated: 9:38am, 22 Jan 2025

In a move that could redefine decades of US foreign policy, President Donald Trump casually referred to North Korea as a “nuclear power” during an impromptu Oval Office exchange with reporters just hours after his inauguration.

The offhand remark has analysts scrambling to decipher whether it marks the start of a dramatic policy reversal – or a return to Trump’s brand of personal diplomacy.

“He liked me. I liked him. We got along very well,” Trump said of North Korea’s supreme leader Kim Jong-un. “He is a nuclear power. We got along. I think he will be happy to see me coming back.”

Washington has long refused to acknowledge Pyongyang’s nuclear status, as part of a strategy designed to avoid legitimising its weapons programme.

Trump’s comments on Monday ignited debate among analysts, with some interpreting them as a signal of renewed diplomatic overtures, while others warned of the dangers such rhetoric poses to regional stability and America’s alliance with South Korea.

Leif-Eric Easley, a professor of international studies at Ewha Womans University in Seoul, cautioned against interpreting Trump’s remarks as a nuanced diplomatic approach.