North Korea's Nuclear Issue as the Biggest Variable in the US 2020 Election... Bolton Says "Military Drills Must Resume" (Comprehensive)

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy New York=Special Correspondent Kim Bong-su] As North Korean Supreme Leader Kim Jong-un mentioned new strategic weapons, the possibility of expanding the influence of hardliners on North Korea within the United States is gaining weight. U.S. North Korea experts evaluate that the North Korea issue will become the biggest variable in President Donald Trump's reelection campaign.

John Bolton, former White House National Security Advisor and a representative hardline hawk on North Korea, urged on Twitter on the 1st (local time), "How will we respond to Kim Jong-un's threatening New Year's remarks?" and "The U.S. must fully resume all military exercises canceled or scaled down in South Korea." He added, "Hold congressional hearings to determine whether the U.S. military is truly prepared to 'fight tonight.'"

Earlier, on the 24th of last month, Bolton stated on Twitter, "The threat to the U.S. military and our allies is imminent. More effective policies are required before North Korea acquires the technology to threaten the U.S. mainland," and his tweet the day before is considered even more hardline than a week ago.

U.S. media analyzed that the North Korea issue has emerged as a major agenda for President Trump this year. The New York Times (NYT) pointed out regarding Kim's mention of "new strategic weapons," "Trump believed he could eliminate the problem that had troubled all previous U.S. presidents by relying on personal skills and vague promises of economic development, but overlooked Kim's belief that 'nuclear weapons are the only insurance guaranteeing the survival of the last Stalinist feudal regime.'" It also evaluated that "he failed to obtain North Korea's promise to freeze its nuclear program."

CNN also noted that "the possibility of North Korea returning to a hardline stance will have political repercussions for President Trump ahead of his reelection," and "although the Trump administration has promoted important diplomatic achievements, Kim Jong-un's new policy could return tensions between North Korea and the U.S. to the levels seen at the end of 2017."

The political media outlet 'The Hill' published consecutive opinion pieces by former Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Christopher Hill and Atlantic Council Senior Fellow Robert Manning, stating, "President Trump seems to have been unaware that many foreign policy challenges would arise ahead of his reelection bid," and "the next step may be how to coexist with a nuclear-armed North Korea."

Jin Lee, a North Korea expert at the U.S. think tank Woodrow Wilson International Center, told the NYT, "I believe Kim Jong-un will continuously seek ways to provoke the U.S. to gain an advantage in denuclearization negotiations without directly challenging President Trump."

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