[Financial News] Donald Trump, who has shifted the focus of his foreign policy toward North Korea instead of the Iran war since last month, has once again publicly acknowledged North Korea's nuclear weapons and called North Korean leader Kim Jong Un his "friend." Trump has reportedly even sought to enlist Dennis Rodman, who is close to Kim Jong Un, for unconditional talks with him. On the 29th, local time, Radio Free Asia (RFA) reported that Trump mentioned North Korea while speaking with reporters at the White House. When asked why he denied that Iran possessed nuclear weapons while acknowledging North Korea's nuclear weapons, he said, "Do you know why? Because there was a president who did not do what I did. There was a president who was not Trump, and they failed to stop it" and added, "As long as I'm here, he will be fine." The remarks are presumed to have been criticism aimed at former President Joseph Robinette Biden Jr. Trump said, "Kim Jong Un is my friend. He likes Trump. A lot of other people don't," adding, "I am the only person in the world he likes, and I like him too. I get criticized when I say that. People say it's terrible." Trump particularly emphasized, "He has nuclear capability—a very substantial amount of nuclear capability," adding, "Not as much as we do, but he has nuclear capability." Earlier, on the 16th of last month, as the Iran war entered a lull, Trump announced via social media a reduction in U.S.–South Korea military exercises and claimed that North Korea was "a country that does not threaten and respects the United States." On the 19th of the same month, he claimed that Kim Jong Un had "57 very powerful nuclear weapons" and said he would "meet with Kim Jong Un within the year." In addition, Trump did not mention North Korea at all in his speech at the United Nations General Assembly on the 22nd. He had mentioned North Korea in three consecutive U.N. General Assembly speeches from 2017 to 2019, but stopped mentioning it at the United Nations after the second U.S.–North Korea summit ended without results in February 2019. In connection with this, a White House official told RFA on the 28th that Trump "held three summits with Kim Jong Un during his first administration and stabilized the Korean Peninsula." The official emphasized, "There has been no change in U.S. policy toward North Korea," adding, "The U.S. president remains willing to talk with Kim Jong Un without any preconditions." Earlier, The Wall Street Journal reported last month that Trump was pursuing a summit with Kim Jong Un, targeting the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit scheduled to be held in China this November. Meanwhile, the New York Post reported on the 29th that Dennis Rodman, a famous former U.S. professional basketball player, is expected to join Trump's midterm election campaign schedule as early as early October. Rodman is known to have visited North Korea five times between 2013 and 2017, building a close relationship with Kim Jong Un. The New York Post said Rodman is scheduled to attend a Trump rally in Oklahoma and claimed that he could play a role in the Trump administration's future diplomacy toward North Korea. An unnamed associate close to Rodman claimed, "Trump wants to refocus on North Korea after the midterm elections and begin talks with Kim Jong Un," adding, "Rodman himself believes that he is an ambassador of goodwill between North Korea and the United States." The associate further said that one of Trump's close aides was discussing the matter with Rodman. [email protected] Park Jong-won Reporter