Asian Editors' Circle

Kim and Trump: A dangerous bromance

Self-touted good relationship between the two is meaningless without denuclearisation

US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un standing on North Korean soil while walking to South Korea in the Demilitarised Zone on June 30. Like any other close relationship, there must have been some sort of chemistry between the
US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un standing on North Korean soil while walking to South Korea in the Demilitarised Zone on June 30. Like any other close relationship, there must have been some sort of chemistry between the 36-year-old North Korean leader and the septuagenarian US President. PHOTO: AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
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When they hurled insults at each other such as "little rocket man" and "dotard", and traded threats of nuclear annihilation, few could imagine that North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and US President Donald Trump would develop such a lasting bromance in so little time.

Like any other close relationship, there must have been some sort of chemistry between the 36-year-old North Korean leader and the septuagenarian US President.

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A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Sunday Times on September 01, 2019, with the headline Kim and Trump: A dangerous bromance. Subscribe