Kim Jong Un told Trump about killing his uncle, book claims
Woodward wrote that Trump said he was impressed with Kim when they first met in Singapore in 2018 and that Kim was “far beyond smart.” Trump also said that Kim “tells me everything”
Excerpts from journalist Bob Woodward's book "Rage" claims that President Donald Trump said North Korean leader Kim Jong Un have him a graphic account on how the dictator killed his own uncle.
The book also provides new details about Trump's thoughts on Kim, racial unrest and a mysterious new weapon that the president claims other world powers don't know about, reports AP.
"Rage" is based on 18 interviews that Woodward conducted with Trump between December and July and with others. Excerpts from the book were reported by The Washington Post, where Woodward is an editor, and CNN.
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Woodward wrote that Trump said he was impressed with Kim when they first met in Singapore in 2018 and that Kim was "far beyond smart." Trump also said that Kim "tells me everything".
As he engaged in nuclear arms talks with Kim, Trump dismissed intelligence officials' assessments that North Korea would never give up its nuclear weapons. Trump told Woodward that the CIA has "no idea" how to handle Pyongyang.
President Trump also dismissed criticism about his three meetings with Kim, claiming the summits were no big deal. Critics said that by meeting Kim, Trump provided the North Korean leader with legitimacy on the world stage.
"It takes me two days. I met. I gave up nothing," said the president, who likened North Korea's attachment to its nuclear arsenal to somebody who is in love with a house and "they just can't sell it."
Kim welcomed Trump's attention, calling the president "your excellency" in a letter. Kim wrote to Trump that he believed the "deep and special friendship between us will work as a magical force."
In September 2018, Trump declared at a rally with supporters that "we fell in love" after exchanging letters. Before they turned the pages on decades of public acrimony, Trump and Kim have regularly traded threats and insults as North Korea pushed to develop a nuclear missile capable of hitting the United States.
"I was really being tough - and so was he. And we would go back and forth," Trump told a rally in West Virginia. "And then we fell in love, okay? No, really - he wrote me beautiful letters, and they're great letters," he said.
