N. Korea-Russia relationship will end when Ukraine war is over: ex-Trump official
Attendees record former U.S. President and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump on their phones as he holds a campaign rally at Crotona Park in the Bronx borough of New York City, U.S., May 23. Reuters-Yonhap
The growing alignment between Russia and North Korea will end when the war in Ukraine is over, and bringing the conflict to a stop will be a priority if ex-U.S. President Donald Trump returns to the White House, a former U.S. official said Tuesday.
Fred Fleitz, a former chief of staff of the National Security Council under the previous Trump administration, also said it will be a "bad precedent" for South Korea if it were to acquire its own nuclear weapons.
"This relationship shows the desperation of the Russians, that Putin had to go to Kim and ask for ammunition to fight the war in Ukraine. That's because no other nation would give him this ammunition," Fleitz, vice chair of the America First Policy Institute, said in a media roundtable in Seoul.
"I believe that when the war in Ukraine ends, this relationship could end too ... It's essential to end this relationship and to end the war, and I believe that would be a priority for President Trump," Fleitz said.
Fleitz was visiting Seoul this week for meetings with experts from think tanks, government officials and businesspeople, including those from the foreign ministry and major companies like Samsung and Hyundai. (Yonhap)