Trump: N. Korea’s involvement makes Ukraine war more complicated

U.S. President-elect Donald Trump said North Korea’s involvement has made the Ukraine war more complicated and added, “And I know Kim Jong Un, I get along very well with Kim Jong Un. I’m probably the only one he’s ever really dealt with.”

In an interview published on Thursday (local time) by Time magazine to commemorate his selection as “2024 Person of the Year,” Trump emphasized, “When you think about it, I am the only one he’s ever dealt with.” The interview took place on November 25 at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida.

“I want to reach an agreement, and the only way you’re going to reach an agreement is not to abandon,” Trump replied when asked whether he would abandon Ukraine, according to Time. “But look, when North Korea gets involved, that’s another very complicating factor,” he added. “And I know Kim Jong Un, I get along very well with Kim Jong Un,” Trump also said, expressing confidence that he would show how effective he can be. He declined to answer when asked if he had contacted Russian President Vladimir Putin after his election victory.

“I think he (Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu) feels very confident in me,” the president-elect said regarding the Middle East conflict. “I think he knows I want it to end,” he added. However, when asked if he trusted Netanyahu, Trump remarked that he didn’t trust anybody.

Meanwhile, The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported that Trump proposed ideas for ending the war, such as stationing European peacekeepers in Ukraine, during a meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. According to WSJ, during a trilateral meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron and Ukrainian President Zelensky at the reopening ceremony of Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris last Saturday, Trump suggested using tariffs to pressure China into persuading Russia.


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