Tag: John Bolton

Here is the latest person to call for the redeployment of tactical nuclear weapons to South Korea:

The United States should redeploy its tactical nuclear weapons on the Korean Peninsula to make US extended deterrence credible against escalating threats from North Korea, said John Bolton, former White House national security adviser, on Tuesday. This strategy would also enable South Korea to buy time to weigh up the gains and losses of nuclear armament, he added.

“I’ve refused to give up on the possibility of stopping North Korea from getting deliverable nuclear weapons in the first place. That should remain (at) the center of our attention. This is not over yet,” Bolton said at the Asan Plenum 2023 hosted by the Asan Institute for Policy Studies in Seoul.

Korea Herald

You can read more at the link, but the redeployment of nuclear weapons Bolton says is also a way to hold China accountable for allowing North Korea’s nuclear weapons program in the first place.

Of all the excerpts given to the media there is hardly anything new he is disclosing because it has been widely reported President Trump has threatened to pull out USFK if South Korea does pay more for US-ROK cost sharing:

 U.S. President Donald Trump threatened to pull American troops from South Korea if Seoul did not pay US$5 billion under a defense cost-sharing deal, his former National Security Adviser John Bolton said in his memoir.

In “The Room Where It Happened,” set to be published Tuesday, Bolton recalled an Afghanistan-related meeting that took place last August ahead of the start of Special Measures Agreement negotiations between South Korea and the United States.

“Get out of there if we don’t get the five billion-dollar deal (for South Korean support of U.S. bases),” Trump was quoted as saying. “We lose $38 billion in trade in Korea. Let’s get out.”

Trump’s initial demand for $5 billion has been widely reported as the two countries remain deadlocked over how much Seoul should pay for the upkeep of 28,500 American troops stationed on the peninsula.

Yonhap

Here is something new that hasn’t been heard before, that President Trump allegedly call Kim Jong-un a “psycho”:

At the meeting, Trump also called the “war games” with South Korea a “big mistake,” referring to the allies’ combined military exercises.

“You shouldn’t have let them go on,” Bolton quoted Trump as telling him. “I’m trying to make peace with a psycho,” he added of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un.

You can read more at the link.

Here is the latest headline from John Bolton’s book:

U.S. President Donald Trump didn’t want South Korean President Moon Jae-in to join him during his third meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un in the demilitarized zone (DMZ) in June 2019, according to John Bolton, the former U.S. national security adviser, in his memoir.    
   
“The Room Where It Happened,” the Bolton memoir set to be published Tuesday, details the three Kim-Trump meetings and the considerable amount of energy expended by Bolton to thwart any U.S. concessions to North Korea.  
   
In a tweet on June 28, 2019, Trump — who was on an official trip to Japan and Korea — offered to shake hands and say hello with North Korean leader Kim, which led to the impromptu meeting days later on June 30 in the inter-Korean truce village of Panmunjom. This marked the first time a sitting U.S. president stepped onto North Korean soil, and took place during Trump’s visit to Seoul for a summit with Moon.    
   
According to Bolton, “Trump wanted Moon nowhere around, but Moon was determined to be present, making it a trilateral meeting if he could.” Bolton had “entertained the faint hope that this dispute with Moon could tank the whole thing, because it was certain Kim didn’t want Moon around.” 

Joong Ang Ilbo

You can read more at the link.

The Blue House is obviously very unhappy with former White House National Security Advisor John Bolton’s new book:

The office of President Moon Jae-in on Monday strongly criticized former White House National Security Adviser John Bolton for his “distorted” account of what happened in brisk summit diplomacy last year involving the leaders of the United States and the two Koreas.

Chung Eui-yong, director of national security at Cheong Wa Dae, said in a statement that “A considerable portion of it is distorted.”

He played it down as based on what Bolton had seen from his “own viewpoint,” not “accurate facts,” accusing him of unilaterally disclosing details of diplomatic consultations based on trust among relevant governments.

Chung said it represents a violation of the basic principle of diplomacy, which could harm the sincerity of future negotiations “very seriously.” (……..)

On Moon’s assessment of the North’s proposed dismantlement of the Yongbyon nuclear complex as a very meaningful first step” to enter an “irreversible stage of denuclearization,” Bolton, known for his hawkish approach on Pyongyang, even reportedly wrote in the memoir that it was “schizophrenic” idea.

The Cheong Wa Dae official said Bolton may be schizophrenic himself.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

Here are some excerpts from John Bolton’s upcoming book which for people following Korean issues, at least from the excerpts appears to be nothing new:

U.S. President Donald Trump told North Korean leader Kim Jong-un during their June 2018 summit in Singapore that he was open to lifting United Nations sanctions on the regime and would think about it, Trump’s former national security adviser, John Bolton, was quoted as writing in his upcoming memoir.

In his book, “The Room Where It Happened,” which is due to be published next week, Bolton writes that Kim told Trump as they were leaving the meeting that he was glad the two had agreed to follow the “action for action” approach in exchanging North Korea’s denuclearization for U.S. concessions, according to Sue Mi Terry, a former CIA analyst who currently works for the Center for Strategic and International Studies think tank.

Kim asked if lifting U.N. sanctions would be next, and Trump responded that “he was open to it and wanted to think about it,” Terry wrote on her Twitter account Thursday. “So Kim left with optimistic expectations.”

On South Korea-U.S. joint military exercises, Trump repeatedly complained about how expensive and provocative they are, and how he viewed them as a waste of money, Bolton continues in his book, Terry said.

“So when Kim said he wanted the U.S. to reduce or eliminate exercises, Trump said he would override the generals and do so,” she tweeted.

“Neither Kelly, Pompeo, nor Bolton — who were sitting right there! — were consulted and of course not Mattis (who wasn’t there),” she added, quoting the memoir. “No consultations with S Korea either. Trump just gave in to Kim without consulting or notifying anyone.”

Yonhap

Here is what Bolton had to say about the Singapore summit:

Trump debated between a small deal and walking away.

He decided “walking away” was more dramatic and would give him leverage in other negotiations, Terry quoted Bolton as writing.

“Bolton confirms a deal was close in Hanoi but Kim had nothing to offer except Yongbyun,” she wrote, referring to North Korea’s main nuclear complex. “Trump pleaded with Kim to add something to his offer, but Kim refused. So Trump walked, knowing it would make him look good.”

I have been saying for years that North Korea is never going to give up their nuclear weapons. I can’t think from the Kim regime’s perspective one good reason to do so after what they have seen happen to both Saddam Hussein and Muammar Gaddafi.

Limiting the number of nuclear weapons and delivery systems seems like a more realistic goal which I wonder if anyone was advising President Trump on?

Here are the thoughts from retired U.S. Army Colonel David Maxwell on a recent article in the National Interest about ex-National Security Advisor John Bolton:

Regardless of what you think about Ambassador Bolton I find it incredible that he actually “wants” war with north Korea (or with any country).  We should not confuse the call for ensuring all military options are on the table with “wanting” to go to war.  We need all military options on the table as the best way to support deterrence.But we need to beware of the press, pundits, and politicians who want to revert to “appeasing” north Korea (yes some talk about an arms control process or an action for action process or the relief of sanctions in return for a promise to conduct negotiations).

All use the same flawed assumption that Ambassador Bolton took to task yesterday regarding Kim’s sincerity to actually denuclearize. Ambassador Bolton can be criticized for much and may be wrong in many areas but he is not wrong when he says this: under current circumstances Kim Jong-un will not give up his nuclear weapons program.

David Maxwell

President Trump is right, that bringing up the Libya model to North Korea was not a good reference if trying to cut a deal:

U.S. President Donald Trump said Wednesday that former National Security Adviser John Bolton “set us back” in denuclearization negotiations with North Korea by demanding the regime follow the “Libya model” and hand over all of its nuclear weapons.

Bolton quit the administration on Tuesday following disagreements with Trump on policies including how to denuclearize North Korea.

The hawkish adviser had once advocated for the “Libya model” that calls for North Korea to give up its nuclear weapons program before receiving any concessions in return.

“He made some very big mistakes. When he talked about the Libyan model for Kim Jong-un, that was not a good statement to make,” Trump told reporters at the White House, referring to the North Korean leader. “You just take a look at what happened with Gaddafi. That was not a good statement to make, and it set us back.”

Libya surrendered its weapons of mass destruction program in 2003, but its then-leader Muammar Gaddafi was toppled from power and killed by NATO-backed rebel forces in 2011.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link, but I think this statement also shows that President Trump realizes that Kim Jong-un is not going to give up all of his nuclear weapons. This means that he is going to have to figure out what amount of nuclear capability and capacity the United States is willing to allow North Korea to have in order to cut a deal.

The Kim regime was probably pleased to see the news that John Bolton resigned as the U.S. National Security advisor:

Following the exit of hawkish National Security Adviser John Bolton from President Donald Trump’s cabinet after he was unceremoniously fired, Washington is now expected to soften its hardline approach toward North Korea when both sides resume their talks on denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula, experts said Wednesday.

The ouster of Bolton is seen as a message from Trump that he badly wants to revive the stalled talks since the failure of the Hanoi summit earlier this year. The U.S. president is widely seen as trying to generate a good foreign affairs policy outcome in his bid for re-election next year. Bolton’s departure came as Pyongyang showed its willingness to resume working-level nuclear talks with the U.S. later this month.

“North Korea will apparently welcome Trump’s ouster of Bolton, as the hawkish figure has long been seen as a thorn in its side from the North’s viewpoint,” said Park Won-gon, a professor of international relations at Handong Global University. “This is a positive sign in terms of resuming the nuclear talks between Washington and Pyongyang.”

But the expert pointed out that Bolton’s absence could have a negative impact on Washington’s ultimate long-term goal of achieving complete denuclearization of the North.

“Bolton was well aware of what denuclearization is and has always stuck to principles without being swayed by political interests,” Park said. Bolton was the most appropriate figure who could deliver critical and realistic messages to Trump, so there are now concerns on whether the U.S. president will be able to fill the position with someone who is as well-versed in denuclearization, the professor said.

Korea Times

You can read more at the link, but the North Koreans are never going to fully denuclearize. The best that can be expected from them would be some kind of “pretend denuclearization” deal. I think President Trump realizes that and probably wants to cut some kind of deal prior to the U.S. Presidential campaign season next year.

It is pretty clear that the South Korean left really dislikes John Bolton now that they resulted to racist name calling which probably means he is doing a good job protecting America’s interests:

Former Unification Minister Jeong Se-hyun claimed Tuesday that the abrupt ending of the summit in Hanoi between U.S. President Donald trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un was “intentional” and engineered by National Security Adviser John Bolton.

Calling Bolton a “big hurdle” with regard to issues related to the Korean Peninsula, Jeong alleged the security adviser persuaded Trump to walk away from the talks with Kim. 

“Bolton, a North Korea hawk, reminds me of a white cavalry leader in an old Western movie who doesn’t feel guilty about killing Native Americans,” Jeong said while meeting with lawmakers of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK). “I believe the breakdown was intentionally brought about by the U.S. side, and Bolton was the villain in this.”

Korea Times

You can read more at the link, but here is a good Tweet from One Free Korea that calls out Jeong for his past appeasement of North Korea:

Jeong Se-hyun, who when asked in 2003 whether his gov't would speak out against North Korea's gulags & crimes against humanity, said, "Political freedom is a luxury, like pearls for a pig." https://t.co/6n42DG5KJE
Expect more of this sort of inflammatory rhetoric from Seoul. https://t.co/Kgok0QDaNG

— Joshua Stanton (@freekorea_us) March 6, 2019