The World On arirang

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un’s sister and close aide, Kim Yo-jong, issued an official statement on March 22nd, revealing that U.S. President Donald Trump sent a personal letter to her brother. In the letter, Trump reportedly expressed his intention to render cooperation to help the North fight the COVID-19 pandemic. Kim Yo-jong’s statement came a day after Kim Jong-un oversaw the test-firing of short-range ballistic missiles. What are the intentions behind the two leaders’ latest moves? Meanwhile, recent reports paint a grim picture for the North Korean economy, as it continues to struggle under international sanctions.
To break down the latest developments, we are joined by Kim Jina, Research Fellow at the Korea Institute for Defense Analyses. We also connect with guest experts on Skype to broaden the perspective, including Patrick M. Cronin, Asia-Pacific Security Chair at the Hudson Institute and Benjamin Silberstein, Associate Scholar in the Foreign Policy Research Institute.