With two days left before the New Hampshire primary, the second battleground in the race to select the Republican candidate for the U.S. presidential election in November, the North Korea issue is emerging as an issue in the Republican primary.
Former President Donald Trump, who met with North Korean Workers’ Party Secretary General Kim Jong-un three times during his term, has been showing off his ‘bromance’ with Secretary General Kim and emphasizing that only he can solve the North Korean nuclear issue, while former UN Ambassador Nikki Haley is former President Trump. This is because they are highlighting North Korean human rights issues by criticizing them for flaunting their closeness to dictators such as General Secretary Kim.
Former President Trump had dealt with Secretary General Kim, Chinese President Xi Jinping, and Russian President Vladimir Putin, as well as Secretary General Kim during his time on the campaign trail, but he had criticized former Ambassador Haley for not being able to deal with them due to her lack of proper leadership.
Former President Trump frequently mentioned North Korea in the process of questioning President Joe Biden’s foreign policy.
At a campaign rally held in Manchester on the 20th, he pointed out, “Until three years ago, Iran, China, Russia, and North Korea were suppressed,” and at a campaign rally on the 19th, he said, “(If I were president) Kim Jong-un would not have threatened the United States.” “He said.
Former President Trump said during a campaign rally in Iowa on the 14th, “Kim Jong-un is very smart and tough,” but added, “But he liked me, and I got along very well with him. (So) we were safe.”
He stated that otherwise there would have been a war with North Korea, saying, “They (North Korea) are stockpiling as many nuclear weapons as anyone else. So we did a great job.”
The stage video shown at former President Trump’s rally includes a scene of former President Trump and Secretary General Kim meeting at Panmunjom in June 2019.
Former President Trump is mentioning the North Korean issue as a subject of criticism of former Ambassador Haley, who has recently emerged as a rival in the primary.
Former President Trump said at a campaign rally in Concord, New Hampshire on the 19th that former Ambassador Haley does not have the qualifications to be president, and pointed out that former Ambassador Haley “won’t be able to deal” with President Xi, President Putin, or General Secretary Kim.
In response, former Ambassador Haley is strongly criticizing former President Trump for showing off his close relationship with Secretary General Kim and others.
In particular, the case of Otto Warmbier, an American college student who was detained in North Korea for 17 months and died six days after being repatriated to the United States in 2017, when former President Trump was in office, was used as a card to attack former President Trump.
This is seen as a strategy to rally support from moderates, independents, and anti-Trump voters in New Hampshire.
Former Ambassador Haley pointed out that former President Trump showed off the exchange of personal letters with Secretary General Kim at a campaign rally in New Hampshire the previous day, and said, “It is the heart of Warmbier’s parents who hear the U.S. president say he ‘wrote a love letter’ to the person who tortured their son.” “Do you know how difficult this must have been?” he criticized.
Former Ambassador Haley’s camp plans to air a three-minute TV commercial featuring a speech of support by Warmbier’s mother, Cindy Warmbier, on the 22nd, a day before the primary.
The video shows Warmbier’s mother speaking as a speaker at former Ambassador Haley’s presidential election launch ceremony in February of last year.
Cindy Warmbier appealed for support in the advertisement, saying that Haley, the UN ambassador at the time, provided strength to the family when her son Otto was detained in North Korea.
Cindy Warmbier said, “My son Otto was invited to go on a trip to North Korea, but was taken hostage by the North Korean government, tortured, and killed.” While we were begging the (Barack) Obama administration for help, he (former Ambassador Haley) was us. “I told him to be quiet and be patient,” he said. Cindy also said that when Haley was ambassador to the United Nations, she “told us to speak up and fight for justice, for ourselves, and for Otto.”
Former Ambassador Haley also said in an interview with a broadcaster that day, “North Korean thugs tortured him (Otto) and sent him back in an absurd condition,” and that she told Warmbier’s parents to “speak loudly and not call out North Korea.” He said he would definitely help. “I pressured China and Russia to pass maximum sanctions against them (North Korea),” he said.
He continued, “What did Trump do (then)? Instead, he criticized, “He exchanged love letters with Kim Jong-un.”
He mentioned that former President Trump congratulated President Xi on several occasions on his inauguration and showed off his bromance with President Putin, saying, “We cannot have (as president) someone who wants to join hands with a dictator who wants to kill us. Instead, we need to let them know what is expected of them.”
According to some reports, North Korea demanded $2 million from the United States for medical treatment before releasing Otto Warmbier, but former President Trump refused.
(Manchester=News 1)
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.