2018 Again?...North Korea Is More Likely to Concentrate Its Defense Forces Than Dialogue

North Korea to conduct its sixth nuclear test in 2017, Trump's first year in office,
Trump's Second U.S.-North Korea Dialogue Attention..."It will be different from the first period"
North Korea "Go as far as negotiating with the United States"...Increasing the reopening threshold,
is likely to focus on the 'five-year plan for defense capability' and 'focus' on Russia.

[Anchor]
With the launch of the second Trump administration, many predict that the security landscape on the Korean Peninsula will be significantly different from that of Biden.

Above all, attention is being paid to whether the scene of the North American leaders meeting for the first time in 2018 and sitting at the negotiating table will be reenacted, but observers say it will not be easy right now.

I'm reporter Lee Jong Won.

[Reporter]
In 2017, Trump's first year in office, North Korea conducted its sixth nuclear test following a series of mid- to long-range missile provocations.

In the background of Trump's words of "fire and anger," the possibility of a preemptive strike by the U.S. was also mentioned.

[Donald Trump / Then U.S. President (2017): If we have to defend our alliance with the United States, we will have no choice but to destroy North Korea completely. Rocketman (Kim Jong-un) is carrying out a suicide mission against himself and his regime.

North Korea responded with raw criticism at every opportunity.

[Ri Yong-ho / Then North Korean Foreign Minister (2017): If you were going to surprise us with the sound of a dog barking, it would be a dog dream.]

The sharp confrontation between North Korea and the U.S. spread to the 'nuclear button' battle the following year.

[Kim Jong-un / Chairman of the State Affairs Commission of North Korea (2018): It is important to know that the entire mainland of the United States is within our nuclear strike range and that the nuclear button is always placed on my office desk, which is a reality, not a threat.]

Tensions rose as Trump responded that he had a bigger and more powerful nuclear button, but this "cliff-edge tactic" paradoxically led to the first-ever U.S.-North Korea summit in 2018.

However, as Trump's second-term U.S.-North Korea relations have developed similarly to the trend eight years ago, it is generally expected that the leaders of North Korea and the U.S. will sit face to face again in the near future.

Based on the learning effect of the "Hanoi No Deal," North Korea has already raised the threshold for the resumption of negotiations, saying it has gone as far as negotiating with the United States.The second Trump administration, which put forward

America First', is also expected to be a foreign policy to solve trade issues such as Ukraine, Israel, and tariffs first.

[Park Won-gon / Professor of North Korean Studies at Ewha Womans University: The Russia-Ukraine war is the most important foreign policy for Trump, and North Korea is linked to it. There seems to be some possibility that North Korea will first secure a communication channel with Kim Jong-un so that it does not appear as an interference.

North Korea, which celebrates its 80th anniversary this year, is likely to "all-in" on close management of North Korea and Russia, focusing on completing the "five-year plan for defense development," including the launch of a spy satellite that failed last year.

However, North Korea's recent resumption of missile provocations in time for the launch of Trump's second term seems to be intended to look at Trump's reaction first, so attention is being paid to the message to North Korea to be released immediately after taking office.

I'm YTN's Lee Jong Won.

Edit
video: Ma Young-hoo