Trump threatened fire and fury — then opened back channel to Kim
In 2017 the spectre of nuclear war loomed over the world as Kim Jong-un and Donald Trump traded apocalyptic threats. But unknown even to aides, Trump had sent a message to Pyongyang.
In late 2017 the spectre of nuclear war loomed over the world as Kim Jong-un, the North Korean leader, and Donald Trump traded apocalyptic threats and searing invective, while Pyongyang conducted salvos of weapons tests.
But a television documentary will reveal this week that, even as Trump threatened to unleash “fire and fury” on the dictator he dubbed “Rocket Man”, the US president launched an audacious and previously unreported back-channel diplomatic initiative.
Months before there was any public hint of a rapprochement, and unknown even to close aides, Trump sent a message to Pyongyang that he would be willing to meet his adversary.
That approach kindled an implausible “bromance” and culminated in two summits, as chronicled in Trump Takes on the World, to be broadcast on BBC2 on Wednesday.
Jeffrey Feltman, an American who was then the chief political affairs officer at the UN, speaks for the first time about his mission to pass on Trump’s unprecedented offer to meet Kim at the height of the crisis. The showdown had spiralled during 2017 as Kim conducted a series of nuclear and missile tests, prompting rare unity on the UN Security Council, which imposed harsh sanctions. In response to increasingly bellicose language from Pyongyang, Trump threatened “fire and fury, the likes of which the world has never seen before”.
With the world apparently on the brink of conflict, North Korea’s foreign minister, Ri Yong-ho, invited Feltman, a former career diplomat, to Pyongyang for a “policy dialogue”. But the UN knew it could not embark on such a mission without the backing of major powers.
And when Feltman consulted US officials, they made clear that the visit was a non-starter, fearing “theatrics” by Pyongyang would divert from Trump’s “maximum pressure” strategy.
So the UN stalled and the offer may have ended there. But a month later, when Antonio Guterres, the UN secretary-general, visited the White House to discuss with Trump the dangers of a war, he mentioned Pyongyang’s invitation — whose response, as described by Feltman in the documentary, was stunning. “Trump leaned over toward him and said ‘Jeff Feltman should go to Pyongyang, and Jeff Feltman should tell the North Koreans that I’m willing to sit down with Kim Jong-un’,” he said.
Trump’s offer remained shrouded in secrecy as the UN and Pyongyang made arrangements for Feltman’s trip in early December. He did not disclose details even to his UN companions. The stakes were raised dramatically just days before his visit when North Korea test-launched a ballistic missile capable of reaching anywhere on the US mainland and boasted that its nuclear and missile program was complete.
“In more than 30 years in diplomacy, I’ve never felt a heavier responsibility, as the risk of war, accidental or intentional, was so strong,” Feltman, a veteran of Middle East postings, said last week.
He shared Trump’s message in a private meeting with Ri who was taken aback. “There was a bit of silence before (he) said, ‘I don’t believe you. Why should I believe you?’ ” Feltman recalled. “And I said, I’m not asking you to believe me. What I’m telling you was that I was entrusted with a message from President Trump. I am the carrier of that message.”
The trip did nothing to ease Feltman’s fears and he left Pyongyang feeling “terrified” at the prospect of war. Over the following weeks Kim maintained his nuclear posturing and uncompromising stance towards the US.
But he did soften his approach to South Korea, the US ally regularly denounced by Pyongyang. His sister, Kim Yo-jong, would lead a North Korean team to the Winter Olympics, tom be held in February. Three weeks after the games, a South Korean delegation travelled to Pyongyang for the first time since Kim came to power. There, Kim “said something extraordinary — that he was willing to meet Trump”, a member of the delegation told the filmmakers.
The South Koreans headed to Washington to brief the White House. To the amazement of those around Trump, the president accepted Kim’s offer on the spot. “We were all stunned,” said Matt Pottinger, Trump’s senior Asia adviser. It now seems Trump would have been the least surprised person in the room as Kim’s offer was a response to his own. Three months later, the two showmen basked in the global limelight as they met at their now famous summit in Singapore.
THE SUNDAY TIMES