President Donald Trump may be preparing another high-stakes diplomatic initiative in Asia — possibly including renewed engagement with North Korea's Kim Jong Un, KT McFarland, a former Trump deputy national security adviser, told Newsmax on Saturday.
"Well, it's ... always expect the unexpected with Donald Trump, right? And so there's not a meeting scheduled," McFarland told Newsmax's "The Count."
"But President Trump had had an outreach meeting with the North Korean president during his first term.
"And it was very successful because, as a result of that meeting, the North Koreans stopped testing nuclear weapons. They stopped testing missiles," she continued.
"So he was able to really buy the good faith of the North Koreans as a result of that meeting.
"Maybe President Trump is going to try to do that again," McFarland said.
Trump headed for Asia Friday night for the first time this term, a trip during which he's expected to work on investment deals and peace efforts before meeting face-to-face with Chinese President Xi Jinping to try to de-escalate a trade war.
"We have a lot to talk about with President Xi, and he has a lot to talk about with us," Trump told reporters as he left the White House.
"I think we'll have a good meeting."
McFarland said the Asia leg comes after a carefully sequenced geopolitical structure that Trump has already reinforced elsewhere.
"He's already done the Middle East. He's shored up our alliances in the Middle East, [including the] historic peace agreement in the Middle East.
"He's been to Europe. He's shored up the NATO alliance," she said.
"Our NATO allies are contributing far more to our common defense.
"He's taken on the Ukraine war as one of his goals is to end that war. But he hasn't paid a lot of attention to Asia," McFarland said.
She said Japan's new leader, Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, will be a key factor in this next phase.
"She's hawkish. She wants to increase defense spending," McFarland said.
"She says I'm the Trump of Asia. I believe in Japan-first foreign policy."
McFarland said Trump will then meet with South Korean leadership to "make sure that our relationship with them is solid, on solid footing."
"Now, why is he doing all of this?" she asked.
"Because everyone understands that the real strategic threat to the United States is China. China is gunning for us.
"China wants to replace the world-order democracy, free-market capitalism, and free trade with an authoritarian system where they're at the head of the world order," McFarland said.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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Jim Thomas ✉
Jim Thomas is a writer based in Indiana. He holds a bachelor's degree in Political Science, a law degree from U.I.C. Law School, and has practiced law for more than 20 years.
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