Alex Wong

Trump's nomination for deputy national security adviser

Trump taps former North Korea summit negotiator to be deputy national security adviser

US President-elect Donald Trump has chosen Alex Wong, who engaged in working-level talks with North Korea during his first presidential term, to serve as deputy national security adviser.

Trump’s nomination of an individual who played a key role in the two US-North Korea summits as the White House’s national security line-up’s No. 2 is prompting speculation as to whether issues surrounding North Korea will take priority for the upcoming Trump administration.

Trump announced the decision to tap Wong as deputy national security adviser in a statement on Friday, noting that Wong served as deputy assistant secretary of state for East Asian and Pacific affairs and as the deputy special representative for North Korea during his first term, as well as being the nominee for UN representative for special political affairs.

Trump emphasized Wong’s expertise in North Korean affairs by saying, “As Deputy Special Representative for North Korea, he helped negotiate my summit with North Korean leader, Kim Jong Un.”

The Washington insider you never heard of? I followed the talks with North Korea as closely as I possible could in US and South Korean media. I never heard of this guy. Additionally, as the deputy working group special representative under Stephen Biegun, mostly their function was reeling in South Korea, who were eager to stabilize, if not normalize, relations with North Korea, and reestablish business, cultural and diplomatic ties to the extent possible. The working group blocked these overtures as much as they could, even to the extent of threatening sanctions against South Korea (imo). This is the conclusion I reached in observing their activity.

I'm not impressed with Wong's resume. He's a typical Washington DC inside the blob character. The truth is, both Andrew (Sung hyun) Kim, the CIA station chief in Seoul, and Sung Kim, a professional diplomat, former ambassador to South Korea, former six party talks negotiator, etc., etc., were imo way more influential than Wong. Wong is a hard right hawk though, anti-China as they get. Looking at his resume, I regard him as a jack of all trades in DC, and master of none. So he really is not an upgrade by any means to the white house national security staff. Sung hyun Kim (Andrew) is probably no less hawkish as Wong, as Pompeo's side kick negotiating with Kim Jong-eun. Sung Y. Kim as Biden's appointee has accomplished nothing w/r/t to North Korea, which is unfortunate. The Biden approach has been too blunt to accomplish anything diplomatically. Trump's team from his earlier administration poisoned the well, and the blob in DC was happy with that outcome.

Here's some speculation in Hankyoreh on what the dynamics of a renewed summit negotiation process might look like with the incoming Trump administration:

What to expect from a possible ‘Season 2’ of Trump-Kim summits

Maybe advisors like Wong, Waltz, and Rubio think they are going to drive some wedges among China and Russia, and North Korea in northeast Asia, with this approach. I don't think such an approach will be very productive.

Tim posted this analysis below, which I don't necessarily agree with. First of all the Indo-Pacific region, covers half the earth. Secondly, the US doesn't have enough carriers to cover all the troubles around the world it has been fueling.

There's more continuity than you think between Biden and Trump. Is China going to invade California while we're not looking? Nikkei: The pressure "reflects an assessment by US military leaders that China poses the greatest threat during the political transition in Washington." pic.twitter.com/WQO7nfb0dz

— Tim Shorrock (@TimothyS) November 27, 2024

This is a beautiful song. Azuma Aki singing a Japanese tune, the title of which I'm unable to translate. But from the Korean translation, it's about nostalgia for youth and the experiences with family in one's home town. This is a major cultural theme in Korea as well.

NHK had an article of the "trend" for South Koreans to come out of the closet and publicly enjoy Japanese popular music, particularly oldies from the seventies and eighties and claimed there is a "new sophistication" among South Koreans to distinguish between culture and politics. I'm not sure this is a grass roots development, as it happens during the most pro Japanese administration since the Park Chung-hee dictatorship.

Why is Japanese pop from the 1970s and '80s making a major comeback in South Korea? K-pop sensation New Jeans fueled the trend at a recent concert with a cover of a beloved '80s hit that set social media ablaze.https://t.co/Iapob75Pyg

— NHK WORLD News (@NHKWORLD_News) November 27, 2024

Hope everyone here at C99 has a great Thanksgiving holiday!