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As the 2020 presidential race heats up, North Korea’s official news agency called Joe Biden a “snob bereft of elementary quality as human being.” They added: “He is self-praising himself as being the most popular presidential candidate. This is enough to make a cat laugh.” The news agency also called the former vice president a “fool of low IQ” and said he “had the temerity to insult the supreme leadership” of North Korea.
“The relationship continues. We’ll see what happens. I know they want to negotiate. They are talking about negotiating, but I don’t think they are ready to negotiate.”
— President Trump, quoted by the Washington Post, on North Korea continuing weapons testing.
“What we saw in Hanoi was amateur hour with nuclear weapons at stake and the limits of reality-TV diplomacy.”
— Sen. Robert Menendez (D-NJ), quoted by The Hill.
20
“With a second U.S.-North Korea nuclear summit looming in February, researchers have discovered a secret ballistic missile base in North Korea — one of as many as 20 undisclosed missile sites in the country,” NBC News reports. “The Kim regime has never disclosed the existence of the Sino-ri Missile Operating Base to the outside world. Ballistic missiles are the primary delivery mechanism for North Korean nuclear warheads.”
20-plus
Bloomberg: “Satellite-imagery analysis and leaked American intelligence suggest North Korea has churned out rockets and warheads as quickly as ever in the year since Kim halted weapons tests, a move that led to his June summit with Trump. The regime probably added several intercontinental ballistic missiles, nuclear proliferation analysts say, with one arms control group estimating that Kim gained enough fissile material for about six more nuclear bombs, bringing North Korea’s total to more than 20.”
“I truly believe North Korea has brilliant potential and will be a great economic and financial nation one day. Kim Jong Un agrees with me on this. It will happen!”
— President Trump, on Twitter.
“We want to thank Kim Jong Un, who really was excellent to these three incredible people.”
— President Trump, quoted by Politico, on the return of three Americans who had been imprisoned by North Korea.
“I won’t rule out direct talks with Kim Jong Un, I just won’t. As far as the risk of dealing with a madman is concerned, that’s his problem not mine.”
— President Trump, quoted by Politico, in remarks to the annual Gridiron dinner.
30%
Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) told The Atlantic that there’s a 30% chance that President Trump initiates war against North Korea. Said Graham: “I would say there’s a three in 10 chance we use the military option.” He added that if the North Koreans conduct an additional test of a nuclear bomb — “I would say 70 percent.”
“They’ll eat grass, but they won’t abandon their program unless they feel secure.”
Bloomberg, arguing that sanctions against North Korea are “useless and ineffective.”
