With North Korea currently assisting Russia with an active war against Ukraine, it doesn’t make sense for Kim Jong-un to try and pursue diplomacy with the U.S. at this time:
U.S. President Donald Trump is “receptive” to correspondence with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and wants to see the progress that was made during their first summit in 2018, a White House spokesperson said Wednesday.
Karoline Leavitt, the spokesperson, made the remarks after NK News reported, citing an “informed high-level source,” that North Korean diplomats in New York had refused to accept a letter from Trump, which was aimed at reestablishing communication channels between Washington and Pyongyang.
As long as Russia continues to be North Korea’s major patron there is no reason for the Kim regime to pursue any negotations with the ROK and the U.S. That is unless the new Lee Jae-myung administration plans to make unilateral concessions for little to nothing in return from North Korea:
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has vowed to “unconditionally” support Russia over the war against Ukraine and “responsibly” observe the articles of a mutual defense treaty signed between Pyongyang and Moscow, the North’s state media reported Thursday.
Kim made the remarks during his meeting with Russia’s Security Council Secretary Sergei Shoigu the previous day in Pyongyang, according to the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA).
Shoigu, Russia’s top security official, arrived in North Korea on Wednesday, amid deepening military cooperation between North Korea and Russia, highlighted by the North’s troop dispatch to Russia to support the war against Ukraine.
That is what one analyst is claiming the North Koreans are trying to do:
Decker Eveleth, a researcher at the Center for Naval Analyses, theorized that North Korea is attempting to lift up its 5,000-ton destroyer with methods inspired by Pixar’s 2009 film “Up” in his account on X, along with a satellite image of the damaged warship. [SCREEN CAPTURE]
In a scene that evokes Pixar’s 2009 animation film “Up,” North Korea seems to be using balloon-like devices to lift a 5,000-ton warship that capsized during its launch at Chongjin Shipyard, according to a military expert.
Decker Eveleth, a researcher at the Center for Naval Analyses, posted satellite imagery on his X account on Monday showing the damaged warship partially covered with a blue tarp and surrounded by several white objects.
Some people are in big trouble in the hermit kingdom after this failed launch of their new naval vessel:
North Korea’s newest warship was severely damaged during a launch ceremony Wednesday, with leader Kim Jong Un, who witnessed the accident, saying it brought shame to the nation’s prestige and vowing to punish those found responsible, state media reported.
In a rare admission of failure, the official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said a malfunction in the launch mechanism caused the stern of the as-yet unnamed 5,000-ton destroyer to slide prematurely into the water, crushing parts of the hull and leaving the bow stranded on the shipway.
Kim called the launch failure “a criminal act” and blamed it on “absolute carelessness” and “irresponsibility” by multiple state institutions – including the Munitions Industry Department, Kim Chaek University of Technology and the central ship design bureau.
Kim Jong-un has made it very clear that he does not want reunification and this is just another attempt remind people of that:
North Korea has erased another symbol of reconciliation with the South, renaming a key building in the Demilitarized Zone and removing signage promoting reunification, South Korea’s Unification Ministry said this week. The building, previously known as the Unification Pavilion, was renamed Panmun Hall sometime in 2024, ministry spokesman Koo Byongsam said at a news conference Monday in Seoul. A sign bearing the former name was taken down in January 2024 and replaced with the new one about seven months later, he said. The move is part of a broader campaign by Pyongyang to strip away references to reunifying the Korean Peninsula, Koo said.
This would be very interesting to see what would happen if Ukraine did in fact attempt to file war crime charges against Putin and Kim Jong-un. However, I don’t see that happening any time soon because such actions would definitely negatively impact any ceasefire negotations:
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un could face a war crime probe at the Hague-based International Criminal Court (ICC) for supporting Russia’s war against Ukraine, a former chief of the ICC said Monday, adding that it is the right time for Kim to be brought to justice.
Song Sang-hyun, former president of the ICC, made the remarks at an international conference in Seoul, as North Korea confirmed for the first time last month that it has deployed troops to Russia to support Moscow’s war against Ukraine.
Kim has not yet been referred to the ICC despite his human rights violations in North Korea, but legal standards have been met now for Ukraine to pursue a case against him at the ICC over the North’s assistance in the Russia-Ukraine war, the former ICC president noted.
“The time is right to bring Kim Jong-un before the ICC,” Song said in his keynote speech at the event, adding that Pyongyang’s military assistance to Russia provided Ukraine with the legal standards to file a complaint against North Korea as a victim.
“There is an opportunity for Ukrainian authorities, as the victim, to file a complaint against North Korea with the ICC,” Song said. “While a complaint filed by Ukraine would be very ideal, the ICC also has the authority to initiate an independent investigation.”
N. Korea conducts anti-air combat, air raid drills
A flight group under North Korea’s Guards 1st Air Division of the Korean People’s Army conducts anti-air combat and air raid drills on May 15, 2025, attended by leader Kim Jong-un, in this photo released by the Korean Central News Agency two days later. (Yonhap)
N. Korea’s tactical drill demonstrations of different arms A North Korean tank fires a shot during tactical drill demonstrations of different arms under the training course of the conference of training officers at a boot camp of the North Korean army’s Capital City Defence Corps on May 13, 2025, in this photo released by the North’s official Korean Central News Agency the next day. The North’s leader Kim Jong-un watched the drill demonstrations, stressing that the most “crucial” task for the North’s armed forces is to make full preparations for war. (Yonhap)
The differences in North Korea policies is really not surprising. Lee Jae-myung just wants to continue the liberal policy of paying off Kim Jong-un for little to nothing in return and Kim Moon-soo is calling to increase military readiness against North Korea:
South Korea’s two leading presidential candidates are presenting sharply contrasting approaches to North Korea — one emphasizes diplomacy and dialogue, while the other advocates for a more robust deterrence strategy, including the possible redeployment of U.S. tactical nuclear weapons to South Korea. These weapons were withdrawn in late 1991 under U.S. President George H. W. Bush’s nuclear reduction initiatives.
While North Korea policy has not traditionally played a decisive role in presidential elections, lingering uncertainty over how U.S. President Donald Trump might engage with Pyongyang has raised the stakes for the next South Korean government’s security strategy.
You can read more at the link, but really the only thing new is Kim Moon-soo advocating for the return of U.S. tactical nuclear weapons to North Korea. I would be surprised to see that happen. Another thing he is advocating for is to amend an agreement with the U.S. to allow the ROK to reprocess plutonium and enrich uranium to speed up nuclear weapons development if they needed. I think the ROK might have more success with this idea.
Ultimately it will be up to the Korean voters to decide if they want to use their tax dollars to support a robust defense focused foreign policy towards North Korea or send their tax dollars to pay off Kim Jong-un for little to nothing in return.
The war on the fish in the East Sea continues by the North Koreans:
North Korea fired multiple short-range ballistic missiles toward the East Sea on Thursday, South Korea’s military said, in what could be a performance test aimed at exporting arms to Russia.
The Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said it detected the launch, involving various types of multiple short-range ballistic missiles, from the North’s eastern coastal city of Wonsan between 8:10 a.m. and 9:20 a.m.
The North’s missile flew up to 800 kilometers before splashing into the East Sea, it said. The latest test is also believed to have involved the North’s KN-25 super-large 600-millimeter multiple rocket launcher and the KN-23, which is similar to Russia’s Iskander short-range ballistic missiles.
![Decker Eveleth, a researcher at the Center for Naval Analyses, theorized that North Korea is attempting to lift up its 5,000-ton destroyer with methods inspired by Pixar's 2009 film "Up" in his account on X, along with a satellite image of the damaged warship. [SCREEN CAPTURE]](https://i0.wp.com/koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/data/photo/2025/05/27/a58ce8b8-47f4-434e-a540-be011e7a47dc.jpg?w=640&ssl=1)
