Major foreign media such as the Associated Press and Politico reported on the 9th (local time) that former US President Donald Trump’s new book, which will be published next month, contains personal letters exchanged with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un during his presidency.
The book, “Letters to Trump,” published on April 25, includes letters exchanged with former presidents such as Chairman Kim, Barack Obama and George W. Bush, as well as celebrities such as Oprah Winfrey and Michael Jackson. contained
Politico, an American political media outlet, reported the contents of Chairman Kim’s personal letter in the book obtained ahead of publication. In a letter dated July 30, which appears to have been sent immediately after the first North Korea-US summit held in Singapore in June 2018, Chairman Kim addressed former President Trump as “Your Excellency” and said, “The relationship between us forged at the first summit I would like to express my deep gratitude to His Excellency for making efforts to keep the promise of that historic day with firm faith in the wonderful relationship between the two countries.”
The letter continued, “It is regrettable that the much-anticipated declaration of the end of the war did not come true, but I am delighted to have formed a good relationship with a powerful and outstanding politician like His Excellency.”
A personal letter from former President Trump to Chairman Kim was also released. In a letter from former President Trump on January 8, 2019, “Dear Chairman Kim, I heard that today is your birthday. I wish you a happy day. The Chairman will have a year of many successes and celebrations. Your country will soon walk on a historic and prosperous path.”
In an interview on the 9th, former President Trump explained in detail the personal letters exchanged with Chairman Kim. Former President Trump said, “I talked to him a lot. I got to know him very well. he was very clever He was very cunning and streetwise. (Omitted) You know, I think we had a very good relationship,” he said. “You might remember that when we started that relationship, it was very, very rough. It was very difficult,” he said.
“He (Chairman Kim) said he had a red button on his desk and was ready to use it. I also have a red button and my button is bigger than yours and said it works. And we were furious,” he said. “I called him Rocket Man and Little Rocket Man. Chairman Kim hated this. But it worked. And he actually called and said he wanted to compete in the Olympics.”
Politico pointed out that the personal letters exchanged with Chairman Kim were “historical and politically important” and “brought about a debate about the North Korean nuclear issue and the practice of preserving presidential records.”
Meanwhile, according to the US Presidential Archives Act, even small memos made during a presidential term must be classified as records and transferred to the US National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) immediately after retirement. However, former President Trump took his White House materials, including a personal letter from Chairman Kim, to his home in Palm Beach, Florida.
After confirming this, NARA notified the Ministry of Justice, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) launched an investigation on charges of violating the Espionage Act. In August of last year, the FBI raided former President Trump’s home. It is unprecedented in the United States to investigate a former president’s home.
Former President Trump issued a statement when the seizure and search began, claiming that he was being ‘politically persecuted’, saying, “My beautiful home, Mar-a-Lago, is being surrounded, raided, and occupied by FBI agents.”
As a result, attacks by supporters of the FBI continued, such as a strong supporter of former President Trump being shot while breaking into the FBI building with a semi-automatic rifle. The Associated Press pointed out that this trend would become more extreme if Trump were prosecuted ahead of the presidential election.
Source: Donga
Mark Jones is a world traveler and journalist for News Rebeat. With a curious mind and a love of adventure, Mark brings a unique perspective to the latest global events and provides in-depth and thought-provoking coverage of the world at large.