U.S. sex offender Jeffrey Epstein also appeared to have a considerable interest in North Korea.
On the 3rd, NK News, a U.S. outlet specializing in North Korea, reported that the recently released "Epstein files" by the U.S. Department of Justice include emails between Epstein and an acquaintance discussing business possibilities in North Korea.
Epstein, on Jan. 29, 2017, shortly after U.S. President Donald Trump's first inauguration, exchanged emails with Landon Thomas Jr., then a New York Times (NYT) reporter, and said, "Trump is perceived as someone who keeps his promises, and this is an important character trait for Putin and North Korea." It is interpreted to mean that with Trump in power, the North Korean and Russian leaders could show interest in improving relations with the United States.
He also noted that, as Trump said, North Korea did not fire missiles and former President Barack Obama could not achieve that. However, two weeks after Epstein sent the email, North Korea launched a ballistic missile, and in Oct. 2016, ahead of the U.S. presidential election, there was also a North Korean missile test launch.
In emails Epstein exchanged with Olivier Colom, who had been an aide to former French President Nicolas Sarkozy, his interest in North Korea surfaces more directly. When Colom asked in a Dec. 6, 2013, email whether he was interested in North Korea, Epstein replied, "Very much."
Colom then emailed back, "In that case I have something to give you. It's huge and totally confidential. Will you go to Moscow in January?" Epstein said it was a good idea and added that he wanted to go to Mongolia to meet the Mongolian president who had visited North Korea.
The emails also contain discussions about North Korea with a person named David Stern. On June 12, 2018, the day of the U.S.-North Korea summit in Singapore, Stern emailed Epstein asking whether there was a way to "go to North Korea to meet the number one," and Epstein replied that he did not know much about sanctions. "Number one" is interpreted to mean Kim Jong-un, chairman of North Korea's State Affairs Commission.
Two days later, Stern emailed Epstein again, asking him to arrange his visit to North Korea through Steve Bannon, who had worked at the White House, and the request included a statement that he had money and wanted to buy top-tier real estate.