Kim Jong Un described the failed Hanoi summit as a “moment of glory” in a personal letter he wrote to U.S. President Donald Trump in June 2019, excerpts from journalist Bob Woodward’s forthcoming book released to media showed Wednesday.
Entitled ‘Rage’ and set to be released on Sept. 15, the book includes contents from 27 letters Kim Jong Un sent to the White House, including flowery content that Pyongyang likely hoped never to be made public.
In a June 2019 letter written to wish Trump a happy birthday, Kim reminisced positively about the Hanoi summit – despite the U.S. President’s abrupt departure earlier that year from Vietnam without a deal.
“Like the brief time we had together a year ago in Singapore, every minute we shared 103 days ago in Hanoi was also a moment of glory that remains a precious memory,” Kim wrote to Trump, a transcript of the letter showed.
“Such a precious memory that I have in my unwavering respect for you will provide impetus for me to take my steps when we walk toward each other again someday in the future.”
The letter may have had some impact: The pair would shake hands less than three weeks later when Trump made an unexpected proposal to meet Kim at the inter-Korean border in Panmunjeom.
In the same letter, Kim also called Trump’s attention to how their “deep and special friendship between us will work as a magical force.”
In an earlier letter sent on Christmas Day 2018, Kim said that a second summit meeting would be “reminiscent of a scene from a fantasy film.” Kim regularly addressed Trump with notable respect, the Christmas letter shows.
“Even now I cannot forget that moment of history when I firmly held Your Excellency’s hand at that beautiful and sacred location as the whole world watched with great interest and hope to relive the honor of that day.”
But the same letter also revealed how Kim took issue with Trump for ongoing disagreement about the potential location for the forthcoming Hanoi summit.
“What worries me is that it may not reflect positively on us should both sides appear to stubbornly insist on our respective positions regarding the location of the summit,” the Christmas Day transcript says. “It could also result in wasting a lot of time,” Kim continued, suggesting that “senior-level” contact could solve “issues regarding the location.”
It is currently unclear if Woodward’s forthcoming book will include full transcripts of the 27 letters he claims to have obtained – or just choice quotes interwoven into a broader narrative.
However, either format is likely to trigger upset in Pyongyang, one analyst said.
“In the North, the writings of the leader are of the greatest possible importance, and it is therefore unthinkable that the correspondence of Kim Jong Un would be sullied and exposed in this manner,” said Christopher Green, a contributing analyst to NK Pro.
“Moreover, Kim seems to have written to Trump in a respectful register that places Kim in a bad light at home given that this is correspondence with an enemy leader, and of course the fact that the resulting diplomacy has not yet turned out remotely as Kim would wish,” Green continued.
CLOSE TO WAR
Other non-letter related material covered in book excerpts suggest that as tensions sharply rose in 2017 with North Korea, Trump’s national security team expressed serious concerns of nuclear war.
“We never knew whether it was real,” Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is quoted as saying, “or whether it was a bluff.”
But the concerns were so serious that “Mattis slept in his clothes to be ready in case there was a North Korean launch and repeatedly went to the Washington National Cathedral to pray,” CNN wrote of excerpts they saw on Wednesday.
Trump also reportedly bragged to Woodward about his three summits with Kim Jong Un: “I met. Big fucking deal,” he said in excerpts seen by The Washington Post.
But despite his interest in one-on-one diplomacy, U.S. intelligence chiefs allegedly warned Trump that North Korea was unlikely to ever surrender its nuclear weapons and that his strategy would be ineffective.
However, the President told Woodward that the CIA has “no idea” how to handle North Korea, The Washington Post said.
Stupid paywall:
Kim Jong Un described the failed Hanoi summit as a “moment of glory” in a personal letter he wrote to U.S. President Donald Trump in June 2019, excerpts from journalist Bob Woodward’s forthcoming book released to media showed Wednesday.
Entitled ‘Rage’ and set to be released on Sept. 15, the book includes contents from 27 letters Kim Jong Un sent to the White House, including flowery content that Pyongyang likely hoped never to be made public.
In a June 2019 letter written to wish Trump a happy birthday, Kim reminisced positively about the Hanoi summit – despite the U.S. President’s abrupt departure earlier that year from Vietnam without a deal.
“Like the brief time we had together a year ago in Singapore, every minute we shared 103 days ago in Hanoi was also a moment of glory that remains a precious memory,” Kim wrote to Trump, a transcript of the letter showed.
“Such a precious memory that I have in my unwavering respect for you will provide impetus for me to take my steps when we walk toward each other again someday in the future.”
The letter may have had some impact: The pair would shake hands less than three weeks later when Trump made an unexpected proposal to meet Kim at the inter-Korean border in Panmunjeom.
In the same letter, Kim also called Trump’s attention to how their “deep and special friendship between us will work as a magical force.”
In an earlier letter sent on Christmas Day 2018, Kim said that a second summit meeting would be “reminiscent of a scene from a fantasy film.” Kim regularly addressed Trump with notable respect, the Christmas letter shows.
“Even now I cannot forget that moment of history when I firmly held Your Excellency’s hand at that beautiful and sacred location as the whole world watched with great interest and hope to relive the honor of that day.”
But the same letter also revealed how Kim took issue with Trump for ongoing disagreement about the potential location for the forthcoming Hanoi summit.
“What worries me is that it may not reflect positively on us should both sides appear to stubbornly insist on our respective positions regarding the location of the summit,” the Christmas Day transcript says. “It could also result in wasting a lot of time,” Kim continued, suggesting that “senior-level” contact could solve “issues regarding the location.”
It is currently unclear if Woodward’s forthcoming book will include full transcripts of the 27 letters he claims to have obtained – or just choice quotes interwoven into a broader narrative.
However, either format is likely to trigger upset in Pyongyang, one analyst said.
“In the North, the writings of the leader are of the greatest possible importance, and it is therefore unthinkable that the correspondence of Kim Jong Un would be sullied and exposed in this manner,” said Christopher Green, a contributing analyst to NK Pro.
“Moreover, Kim seems to have written to Trump in a respectful register that places Kim in a bad light at home given that this is correspondence with an enemy leader, and of course the fact that the resulting diplomacy has not yet turned out remotely as Kim would wish,” Green continued.
CLOSE TO WAR
Other non-letter related material covered in book excerpts suggest that as tensions sharply rose in 2017 with North Korea, Trump’s national security team expressed serious concerns of nuclear war.
“We never knew whether it was real,” Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is quoted as saying, “or whether it was a bluff.”
But the concerns were so serious that “Mattis slept in his clothes to be ready in case there was a North Korean launch and repeatedly went to the Washington National Cathedral to pray,” CNN wrote of excerpts they saw on Wednesday.
Trump also reportedly bragged to Woodward about his three summits with Kim Jong Un: “I met. Big fucking deal,” he said in excerpts seen by The Washington Post.
But despite his interest in one-on-one diplomacy, U.S. intelligence chiefs allegedly warned Trump that North Korea was unlikely to ever surrender its nuclear weapons and that his strategy would be ineffective.
However, the President told Woodward that the CIA has “no idea” how to handle North Korea, The Washington Post said.
Stupid paywall:
Kim Jong Un described the failed Hanoi summit as a “moment of glory” in a personal letter he wrote to U.S. President Donald Trump in June 2019, excerpts from journalist Bob Woodward’s forthcoming book released to media showed Wednesday.
Entitled ‘Rage’ and set to be released on Sept. 15, the book includes contents from 27 letters Kim Jong Un sent to the White House, including flowery content that Pyongyang likely hoped never to be made public.
In a June 2019 letter written to wish Trump a happy birthday, Kim reminisced positively about the Hanoi summit – despite the U.S. President’s abrupt departure earlier that year from Vietnam without a deal.
“Like the brief time we had together a year ago in Singapore, every minute we shared 103 days ago in Hanoi was also a moment of glory that remains a precious memory,” Kim wrote to Trump, a transcript of the letter showed.
“Such a precious memory that I have in my unwavering respect for you will provide impetus for me to take my steps when we walk toward each other again someday in the future.”
The letter may have had some impact: The pair would shake hands less than three weeks later when Trump made an unexpected proposal to meet Kim at the inter-Korean border in Panmunjeom.
In the same letter, Kim also called Trump’s attention to how their “deep and special friendship between us will work as a magical force.”
In an earlier letter sent on Christmas Day 2018, Kim said that a second summit meeting would be “reminiscent of a scene from a fantasy film.” Kim regularly addressed Trump with notable respect, the Christmas letter shows.
“Even now I cannot forget that moment of history when I firmly held Your Excellency’s hand at that beautiful and sacred location as the whole world watched with great interest and hope to relive the honor of that day.”
But the same letter also revealed how Kim took issue with Trump for ongoing disagreement about the potential location for the forthcoming Hanoi summit.
“What worries me is that it may not reflect positively on us should both sides appear to stubbornly insist on our respective positions regarding the location of the summit,” the Christmas Day transcript says. “It could also result in wasting a lot of time,” Kim continued, suggesting that “senior-level” contact could solve “issues regarding the location.”
It is currently unclear if Woodward’s forthcoming book will include full transcripts of the 27 letters he claims to have obtained – or just choice quotes interwoven into a broader narrative.
However, either format is likely to trigger upset in Pyongyang, one analyst said.
“In the North, the writings of the leader are of the greatest possible importance, and it is therefore unthinkable that the correspondence of Kim Jong Un would be sullied and exposed in this manner,” said Christopher Green, a contributing analyst to NK Pro.
“Moreover, Kim seems to have written to Trump in a respectful register that places Kim in a bad light at home given that this is correspondence with an enemy leader, and of course the fact that the resulting diplomacy has not yet turned out remotely as Kim would wish,” Green continued.
CLOSE TO WAR
Other non-letter related material covered in book excerpts suggest that as tensions sharply rose in 2017 with North Korea, Trump’s national security team expressed serious concerns of nuclear war.
“We never knew whether it was real,” Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is quoted as saying, “or whether it was a bluff.”
But the concerns were so serious that “Mattis slept in his clothes to be ready in case there was a North Korean launch and repeatedly went to the Washington National Cathedral to pray,” CNN wrote of excerpts they saw on Wednesday.
Trump also reportedly bragged to Woodward about his three summits with Kim Jong Un: “I met. Big fucking deal,” he said in excerpts seen by The Washington Post.
But despite his interest in one-on-one diplomacy, U.S. intelligence chiefs allegedly warned Trump that North Korea was unlikely to ever surrender its nuclear weapons and that his strategy would be ineffective.
However, the President told Woodward that the CIA has “no idea” how to handle North Korea, The Washington Post said.