U.S. Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris vows to not 'cozy up' to Kim Jong-un

U.S. Vice President and Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris vowed not to "cozy up" to North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, whom she labeled a "tyrant" and a "dictator" in her acceptance speech on Thursday.

Democratic presidential candidate Vice President Kamala Harris speaks at the 2024 Democratic National Convention at the United Center in Chicago on Thursday. [UPI/YONHAP]

U.S. Vice President and Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris vowed not to "cozy up" to North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, whom she labeled a "tyrant" and a "dictator" in her acceptance speech on Thursday in Chicago.

"I will not cozy up to tyrants and dictators like Kim Jong-un who are rooting for Trump," Harris said at the Democratic National Convention, taking a clear swipe at Trump's remarks from a month earlier when he accepted the Republican nomination and said, "It's nice to get along with someone who has a lot of nuclear weapons." His statement was in reference to his relationship with Kim during his presidency.

"They [North Korea] know he is easy to manipulate with flattery and favors," Harris said. "They know Trump won’t hold autocrats accountable — because he wants to be an autocrat."

While Trump touted his personal relationship with Kim as a success, Harris advocates for a more traditional, alliance-based approach to countering North Korean provocations.

"I got along with him, and we stopped the missile launches from North Korea. Now, North Korea is acting up again, but when we get back, I get along with him," Trump said during his acceptance speech at the Republican National Convention on July 18.

Harris’s strategy emphasizes the importance of alliances, particularly the South Korea-U.S. partnership and the trilateral cooperation between South Korea, the United States and Japan, in retaining and enhancing deterrence against North Korea. The Democratic platform, adopted at the convention, reaffirms this stance, stating that the United States "has and will stand by our allies, especially South Korea, against North Korea's provocations, including its illegal build-up of missile capabilities."

In contrast, Trump adheres to his "America First" philosophy, emphasizing that U.S. allies should not free-ride on American support. In an April interview with TIME Magazine, when asked about potentially withdrawing U.S. troops from South Korea, Trump remarked, "I want South Korea to treat us properly" — a statement widely interpreted as a signal to push South Korea to pay more for the U.S. military presence on the peninsula.

He has often expressed skepticism about the value of alliances, particularly NATO, as he lamented, "We have long been taken advantage of by other countries. And think of it, oftentimes these other countries are considered so-called allies" in his acceptance speech last month.

This sentiment is reflected in the Republican platform, which asserts that "Republicans will strengthen alliances by ensuring that our allies must meet their obligations to invest in our common defense," summarizing the party’s foreign policy as peace through strength.

While both the new Democratic and Republican platforms omitted the goal of North Korean denuclearization, there has been speculation among analysts that the United States might be shifting toward accepting North Korea’s nuclear status and could potentially discuss arms control rather than denuclearization in future negotiations.

Colin Kahl, a former undersecretary of defense for policy and a key drafter of the Democratic platform, clarified that "The denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula remains an objective of this [Biden] administration and, I would have to imagine, a Harris-Walz administration" in a recent press briefing.

BY SEO JI-EUN [seo.jieun1@joongang.co.kr]