Foreign Affairs

‘We Do Not Care’: Emboldened North Korea Warns US Should ‘Worry’ Even If Trump Wins

(Screen Capture/CSPAN)

North Korea does “not care” whether former President Donald Trump wins the U.S. presidential elections in November, warning that the U.S. should “worry” regardless, according to North Korean state media.

Trump has routinely touted his former administration’s progress in bringing North Korea to the negotiating table on issues like denuclearization, and his own relationship with the country’s leader, Kim Jong-un. But North Korea appears to be unconcerned with whoever wins the U.S. presidential elections in November, as nothing will “change” in relations, North Korean state media reported Tuesday.

“Trump, who has been officially confirmed as a candidate for the Republican Party, said in his speech of acceptance for candidate that ‘I got along with them and it is nice to get along with someone who has a lot of nuclear weapons and otherwise,’ thus buoying a lingering desire for the prospects of the DPRK-U.S. relations,” an article from North Korean state media outlet KCNA on Wednesday reads, as translated into English by NK News. “Even if any administration takes office in the U.S., the political climate, which is confused by the infighting of the two parties, does not change and, accordingly, we do not care about this.”

“The DPRK has bolstered up its self-defensive capabilities to safeguard its ideology, social system, dignity and life and is fully ready for all-out confrontation with the U.S.,” the article reads. “Due to the serious strategic mistakes of the successive administrations, the era has come when the U.S. should really worry about its security.”

The article notes that Trump attempted to work with the North Korean government to achieve non-hostile relations, but claims that he “did not bring about any substantial positive change.” State media also appeared to call into doubt whether the U.S. was serious about avoiding the prospect of war with North Korea.

“Can we believe it?” the article reads. “The U.S. had better make a proper choice in the matter of how to deal with the DPRK in the future, while sincerely agonizing the gains and losses in the DPRK-U.S. confrontation.”

Trump and Kim’s relationship got off to a rocky start in 2017. North Korea had been routinely conducting nuclear missile tests that year and vocalizing threats toward the West, prompting Trump to warn of “fire and fury” should the country ever go after the U.S, according to Reuters. But in the months following those threats, North Korea and the U.S. agreed to negotiations, and Kim and Trump met multiple times in the years following to discuss denuclearization in the Korean peninsula, including one historic meeting in North Korea.

Ultimately, negotiations failed to convince North Korea to denuclearize before Trump left office, and the country continued ramping up its military force and missile testing. Since taking office in 2021, President Joe Biden has not made substantive progress in guiding North Korea toward denuclearization or normalizing state relations.

As of January 2024, North Korea was estimated to maintain roughly 50 nuclear warheads, with enough resources to create an additional 70 to 90 warheads, according to the Arms Control Association. The Research Center for Nuclear Weapons Abolition estimated North Korea  had roughly 35 nuclear weapons in its arsenal as of 2020, according to United Press International.

The State Department, which oversees U.S. foreign policy and international diplomatic relations, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

(Featured image credit: Screen Capture/CSPAN)