Bolton: "Trump Called Me to the White House in 2017 to Ask About the Probability of War with North Korea"

[Image source=Reuters Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kwon Jae-hee] It has been revealed that former White House National Security Council (NSC) advisor John Bolton, who was out of office during the heightened tensions between North Korea and the U.S. in 2017, was called by then U.S. President Donald Trump to ask about the possibility of war with North Korea.

Bolton introduced this anecdote in his memoir "The Room Where It Happened," which is scheduled to be published on the 23rd.

According to the memoir, on December 7, 2017, President Trump invited Bolton to the White House, and Bolton explained "why and how a preemptive strike on North Korea's nuclear ballistic missile program would be effective."

At that time, Bolton was reportedly not yet appointed as an NSC advisor.

He added, "I explained how we could use a large amount of conventional bombs targeting North Korea's artillery positions north of the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ), and how doing so could dramatically reduce casualties."

Bolton also explained "why the U.S. must quickly approach the issue as a binary choice between allowing North Korea to possess nuclear weapons or using military force," and reported that "the only other alternatives are Korean reunification led by South Korea or regime change in North Korea."

President Trump then asked, "What do you think about the possibility of us going to war with North Korea? Fifty-fifty?" to which Bolton replied, "That depends on China," and added, "Probably fifty-fifty."

Bolton, known as a hardliner on North Korea, was appointed as White House National Security Advisor in April the following year.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.