INTELLIGENCE/NORTH KOREA/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “U.S. President Donald Trump on Wednesday [6-5-19] appeared to cast doubt on news reports of North Korean executions as part of a purge in the aftermath of a failed Hanoi summit and lamented that North Korean leader Kim Jong Un was blamed too quickly. Asked about South Korean reports that North Korea had executed a top diplomat, Trump said, ‘I don’t know if the reports are correct’…Trump has famously sided with autocratic leaders, including saying last July he believed Russian President Vladimir Putin over U.S. intelligence findings that Russia had attempted to sway the 2016 presidential election. In May, he said he agreed with the North Korean leader’s criticism of former U.S. Vice President Joe Biden, a Democratic presidential candidate. There have been conflicting reports about shakeups in the North Korean diplomatic team. South Korean newspaper Chosun Ilbo said last week that nuclear envoy Kim Hyok Chol was executed in March along with four foreign ministry officials after they were charged with spying for the United States.”
–Steve Holland, “Trump casts doubt on reports of North Korean executions,” Reuters, June 5, 2019 11:51 am