When 72-year-old President Donald Trump walked out Feb. 28 of the Hanoi, Vietnam summit with 34-year-old North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un, you knew heads would roll. Recent reports from South Korean intelligence indicate that Kim executed five diplomats involved in the discussions to denuclearize the Korean Peninsula. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo’s negotiating partner Kim Hyok-choi who, together with four other diplomats, were mowed down at Pyongyang’s Mirim Airport. While Trump flew back to Washington empty-handed, facing an angry U.S. media, Kim accused his diplomatic team of spying. “He was accused of spying for the United States for poorly reporting on the negotiations without properly grasping U.S. intentions,” said an unnamed South Korean source. While not independently confirmed, as most things in North Korea, the information looks factual.
South Korea’s Unification Ministry declined to comment about the events following the Hanoi summit. South Korea’s presidential Blue House also refused to comment on recent press reports about executions. Since taking power Dec. 17, 2011 from his deceased father Kim Jong-il, the young Kim has been known to shoot first, ask questions later for anyone, including relatives, suspected of treason. Kim’s uncle Jang was mowed down with anti-aircraft fire March 12, 2016. Killing anyone accused of treason is par-for-the-course in Kim’s Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea [DPRK]. “I can tell you we are monitoring the situation and continuing to stay focused on our ultimate goal, which is denuclearization,,” White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said yesterday. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said U.S. intel officials were still trying to confirm the reports.
Unable to confirm Kim Hyok-choi’s death, his disappearance can only be explained by death or incarceration in a forced labor, thought-reform or reeducation camp. Since no one’s heard anything from Hyok-choi since the summit, it’s more evidence that he was probably liquidated. Pompeo met numerous times with Hyok-choi before and during the Feb. 28 Hanoi Summit. Unnamed South Korean lawmaker said Kim Hyok-choi disappeared since April, maybe before. “This is a man who might provide some tactical advice to the leader but is otherwise a message bearer with little negotiating or policymaking latitude,” said Michael Madden, North Korean leadership expert at D.C.-based Stimson Center. Madden thinks Yyok-choi was used to insulate Choe Son-hui, a more senior member of the negotiating team. Reports suggest Hyok-choi and Sin Hye-yong were detained in prison.
All the DPRK’s machinations reminds Trump that when he says he has faith in Kim to do the right thing for his country, he doesn’t understand what makes the Stalinist regime tick. Kim operates with such a high level of paranoia, everyone is considered a potential enemy, subject to liquidation. Kim Song-hye, another member of Kim’s negotiating team, was the “prime author” of the DPRK’s plan to get sanctions relief in exchange for dismantling the Yongbyon nuclear reactor. Hye-Song was accused by Kim’s party with making critical interpretation errors, leading to his incarceration and execution. North Korea’s Chosun newspater reported that Hye-Song’s last-minute offers led to the Hanoi summit’s failure. DPRK’s mouthpiece Rodong Sinmun warned yesterday that “two-faced” officials would be subject to “stern judgment of the revolution,” almost certain death.
Hearing about Kim’s brutal actions in the wake of Hanoi reminds Trump that he’s not dealing with an ordinary leader. Whatever concessions Trump makes to Kim, he’s all-too-familiar with Kim’s erratic behaivor. Vaporizing key diplomats involved with DPRK’s peace negotiations shows that Kim has a totalitarian grip in North Korea. There’s zero evidence at this point that Kim wants to do the right thing when it comes to the DPRK. “Executing or completely removing people like him would send a very bad signal to the United State because he was the public face of the talks and it could indicate that hey are negating all they have discussed,” said Hong Min, senior fellow at the Seoul-based Korea National Unification Institute. Kim’s erratic behavior reminds Trump that he has superficial peace partner. All the talk about Kim looking to improve the DPRK’s economy makes no sense.
Whether smearing VX nerve gas on his half brother Kim Jong-nam Feb. 13, 2017 or gunning down his uncle Jong Song –thaek Dec. 12, 2013, Kim has showed his ruthless side on many occasions. How Trump thinks Kim is his friend is anyone’s guess. While there’s nothing wrong in maintaining open relations, Trump must remember with whom he’s dealing, especially when it comes to vaporizing the opposition. “It is an anti-Party, anti-revolutionary act to pretend to be revering the leader in front of him when you actually dream of something else,” said Rodung Sinmun Thursday. Given Kim’s track record, it’s unrealistic to think that Kim will turn a new leaf, especially when it comes to negotiating with the U.S. Whether or not Trump meets with Kim anytime soon, he should think about the latest extrajudicial killings, all in the name of protecting Kim’s brutal totalitarian rule.
