What North Korea thinks about Trump — according to the man who interprets his tweets for Kim Jong Un

pulse

September 10, 2017 8:35 AM

'When he speaks, I have to figure out what he means, and what his next move will be,” a North Korean interpreter said of Donald Trump. “This is very difficult.'

As Donald Trump prides himself on being unpredictable, he may well be pleased with a new New Yorker report from Evan Osnos that found North Korea couldn't make heads or tails of the US president.

Pak Song Il, the North Korean tasked with interpreting US politics, statements, and military posture, told Osnos during a trip to Pyongyang that Trump had thrown him for a loop.

"When he speaks, I have to figure out what he means, and what his next move will be," Pak said. "This is very difficult."

"He might be irrational — or too smart. We don’t know," Pak said.

Of particular interest in North Korea was Trump's "fire and fury" comment, when he seemed to offhandedly suggest that further threats from North Korea would prompt its nuclear annihilation from the US.

According to Osnos, Pak figured Trump was employing a deceptive strategy "like the Chinese 'Art of War.'"

But North Korea acknowledges that unlike its own system, the US relies more on consensus than whims of the leader.

"Is the American public ready for war?" Pak asked Osnos. "Does the Congress want a war? Does the American military want a war? Because, if they want a war, then we must prepare for that."

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