On the 13th (local time), U.S. President Donald Trump referred to North Korean Commissioner Kim Jong-un as a "Nuclear Power" and said that North Korea "has a lot of nuclear weapons," raising questions about whether he would pursue arms control talks, rather than the denuclearization efforts that failed during his first term.
During a meeting with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte in the Oval Office that day, Trump responded "Yes, I would" to the question of whether he plans to rebuild his relationship with Chairperson Kim Jong-un, which he established during his first term, amid rising tensions on the Korean Peninsula. He added, "I had a good relationship with Kim. I will see what happens," and emphasized that "certainly, he (Kim Jong-un) is a Nuclear Power." Trump also mentioned the past U.S.-Soviet nuclear disarmament issue, stating, "Kim has a lot of nuclear weapons," adding that "the same goes for other countries like India and Pakistan."
He also said, "If I were not elected and Hillary (Clinton), who ran for president in 2016, had gone into the White House, you would have been at nuclear war with North Korea and millions would have died." Trump then highlighted the North Korea-U.S. summits held in Singapore and Vietnam, stating, "He (Kim Jong-un) did not meet (Barack) Obama nor did he take a call from him," stressing, "We started off rough and tough, but we met."
Trump continued, "That summit resulted in South Korea achieving tremendous success at the Olympics," stating, "(Before that), no one bought tickets because they didn't want to be attacked with nuclear weapons. And I met (North Korean Kim Jong-un), and not only was the Olympics successful, but North Korea also participated in the Olympics. That is a great achievement of the Trump administration." The Olympics Trump referred to seems to be the 2018 Winter Olympics held in Pyeongchang; however, the Olympics took place in February 2018, and the first North Korea-U.S. summit was held in June of that year.
There have been concerns that when Trump referred to North Korea as a "nuclear power" shortly after taking office, it effectively recognized North Korea as a nuclear state and would modify the goal of denuclearization. Although North Korea possesses nuclear weapons, the international community does not recognize it as a nuclear power due to diplomatic and military ramifications. Previous U.S. administrations also refrained from using the term 'nuclear power' in reference to North Korea.
The Trump administration issued a statement on the 10th in response to a request for comments regarding North Korea's ballistic missile launch, stating, "The United States is committed to the complete denuclearization of North Korea." Analysts suggest that because Trump used the term "Nuclear Power" instead of "nuclear weapon state" as outlined in the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), it does not indicate a modification of the denuclearization goal. Reuters reported that, quoting a White House official, "In response to the question of whether Trump's remarks indicate a policy shift regarding North Korean nuclear weapons, the White House said, 'Trump will pursue the complete denuclearization of North Korea as he did during his first term.'"