An editorial in DPRK Today, a North Korean media outlet, declared support for Donald Trump and his policies on Tuesday.
“There are many positive aspects to Trump’s ‘inflammatory policies’,” Han Yong-mook, a self-described Chinese North Korean scholar, wrote, adding “Trump said he will not get involved in the war between the South and the North, isn’t this fortunate from North Korea’s perspective?” The editorial supported Trump’s idea to hold direct talks with Kim Jong-un, stating that he could help Pyongyang’s “Yankee go home” policy.
The article emphasized that Seoul should not increase defense spending for a United States withdrawal, and said, “the president that US citizens must vote for is not that dull Hillary—who claimed to adapt the Iranian model to resolve nuclear issues on the Korean peninsula—but Trump, who spoke of holding direct conversation with North Korea.”
The editorial spoke about how Trump could help unify the Korean Peninsula, praising him as a “wise politician,” and a “far-sighted presidential candidate.” A researcher said the editorial is an indicator of Pyongyang’s goal to break through Washington’s strategic policy.
“This is very striking,” Aidan Foster-Carter of University of Leeds said. “Admittedly it is not exactly Pyongyang speaking, or at least not the DPRK government in an official capacity. But it is certainly Pyongyang flying a kite, or testing the waters. For the rest of us, this is a timely reminder—if it were needed—of just how completely Trump plans to tear up established U.S. policy in the region.”
