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| U.S. President Donald Trump is with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un during their June summit in Singapore. Yonhap |
By Oh Young-jin
U.S. President Donald Trump talked about being in love with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un during a rally before the Nov. 6 mid-term elections.
It was obviously a slip of the tongue because his follow-up rhetoric showed his love was neither platonic nor erotic but perhaps a third kind ― one that is only possible by a dictator or between the two.
Trump's dictatorial love for Kim and the latter's willingness to follow Trump's lead are not bad for the rest of the world by some modest standards. Next week's Hanoi, Vietnam, summit between the two will surely prove it.
The chance is that they may settle on agreeing to disagree to get things moving but with no breakthroughs. The pace and nature of their dialogue looks comparable to the courtship at the tantalizing starting stages of a mating dance in the animal world.
That would help maintain the state of no war on the Korean Peninsula and hopefully ultimately lead to a firmer and lasting peace.
Not so fast, though! Any courtship is bound to have ups and downs and perhaps one of a dictatorial nature is more likely than others to turn cold for no apparent reason or make irreconcilable enemies of the lovers.
Kim is not Trump's first dictatorial lover and Trump's previous relationships have not ended well.
He is having a messy divorce with Xi Jinping, the Chinese president-for-life. Less than two years ago, Trump was in love with Xi ― almost certainly bromance ― inviting him to his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida for a sleepover during their maiden summit.
The two talked in private for a long time. Trump showed his liking for the Chinese president and shared the limelight as the leader of an incumbent superpower with the other in the making. Then, suddenly, Trump blamed Xi for meddling in his affairs ― preventing his attempt to resolve the North's nuclear challenge ― and cheating on the United States, thereby him, as Trump believes he is the country.
Trump has now staged a vicious trade war against China, acting as if he wants to show Xi and the rest of the world who is in charge. It is a smaller version of the Thucydides trap, the old husband throwing tantrums at the young bride for not being able to cope. Xi and China are taking the blows with aplomb but the likelihood is that Trump will only enrage Xi, who is waiting patiently for a moment to retaliate.
With Russian dictator Vladimir Putin, Trump found comforting companionship. Special Counsel Robert Mueller's probe is expected to dispel any doubt that Russia helped in Trump's 2016 presidential election victory through hacking and manipulating social media outlets. A top coterie of Trump aides met Russians before the election, it has been already proved.
Now the forbidden love between Trump and Putin ― leaders of the old foes dating back to the Cold War-era ― is under greater scrutiny.
Trump ventured to have some private moments with Putin during their meeting last year, or threw some compliments his way, but their relationship doesn't look promising any more, not in the least because Trump has what he was looking for.
For Putin, it is not the first time an American leader has forsaken him as George W. Bush, Trump's conservative predecessor, confessed about his infatuation with the former KGB apparatchik: "I looked into his eyes and saw his soul … but he has changed."
So what does this Trumpian behavior pattern mean for his latest love, Kim?
First, Trump is going after Kim as long as he has what he wants and keeps him tantalized. Kim has proved to be good at it so far and he may last longer than the others. A caveat is that Trump has a short attention span and easily tires himself, so Kim needs to play his cards wisely.
More importantly, how will their love affair affect us in the South, those in Japan and China and the rest of the world?
I will get at it after Hanoi.
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