An interview with John Bolton, hardliner on North Korea – Ep. 296

South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol announced his nominee for unification minister last week, but his pick for the role overseeing inter-Korean exchanges — the “new right” professor Kim Yung-ho — has proven controversial for his past comments calling for regime change and repeatedly predicting North Korea’s collapse.

NK News correspondent Shreyas Reddy discusses the nomination and what it means for the ministry, as well as the DPRK’s new anti-U.S. propaganda posters, YouTube shutting down North Korean channels and more.

Then, former U.S. National Security Advisor John Bolton joins the podcast for an exclusive interview to discuss his views on how to create a unified Korean Peninsula and counter DPRK nuclear threats, and why he believes regime change is not necessary to achieve these goals. He also talks about why he believes China should do more to reign in Pyongyang and promote peace, how a withdrawal of U.S. troops would impact negotiations on North Korean WMDs and more.

John Bolton has played a key role in shaping Washington’s policy toward North Korea over the course of more than two decades, including leading efforts to abandon the Agreed Framework. He served as former President Donald Trump’s national security advisor from April 2018 to Sept. 2019, a period that covered all three of Trump’s meetings with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. Before that Bolton served as under secretary of state for arms control and international security affairs and as U.S. ambassador to the U.N. under George W. Bush.

About the podcast: The North Korea News Podcast is a weekly podcast hosted by Jacco Zwetsloot (@JaccoZed) exclusively for NK News, covering all things DPRK — from news to extended interviews with leading experts and analysts in the field, along with insight from our very own journalists.