U.S. President Donald Trump's administration reportedly reached out to North Korea in a bid to resume talks on the latter's anticipated denuclearization. The report came amid U.S.-Iran tensions that experts believe are far from over.
In a recent interview with Axios, Washington national security adviser Robert O'Brien revealed that the White House "reached out to the North Koreans" to talk about the denuclearization matter as talks were dampened in October.
O'Brien explained that the Trump administration has reached out to Pyongyang through different channels to let the North Korean side know that it seeks continuation of talks regarding North Korean chief Kim Jong Un's commitment towards denuclearization.
The revelation came roughly two weeks after Kim reportedly vowed to deliver a "Christmas gift" that most analysts predicted would be a nuclear weapon test of some sort. In line with Kim's alleged statement, some experts said the American side failed to get things done with North Korea.
On the other hand, O'Brien pointed out that Kim's decision not to send his "present" was a good sign that the North Koreans are standing down, especially as tensions between Iran and the U.S. have yet to dissolve.
CNBC reported that under Kim's regime, North Korea already accomplished a lot in its missile and nuclear program that the White House has been seeking to block over the past few years.
The Asian country has been conducting tests on its nuclear weapons and it also threatened to launch missiles near Guam's sea area of responsibility. Probably the biggest news that broke out in 2019 was the first-ever launch of an intercontinental ballistic missile.
Meanwhile, Washington has other problems to fix as tensions with Tehran are still ensuing despite the two sides seemingly standing down from the worst-case scenario - a full-blown military war.
The U.S.-Iran war was triggered again over a week ago, when Trump ordered an airstrike that killed Iran's top military leader, Qasem Soleimani. His death caused an uproar among the masses and Tehran vowed revenge.
Last week, Iran fired missiles on two Iraqi bases where U.S. troops were housed. However, the bigger problem is Tehran's admission that it mistakenly shot down a Ukrainian Boeing 737-800 jet where 176 passengers were on board.
According to CNN, many Iranians believe the incident was a domestic problem, not one that involved the country's dispute with the United States or Iraq. It is worth noting that all passengers died in the crash.
Protests have been going on since Tehran's admission of striking the passenger jet. Demonstrators have been on the road since last week to express their grief over the deaths of their own.
Trump has also called on the Iranian government through Twitter, telling the leaders to "NOT KILL YOUR PROTESTERS." It remains to be seen how Tehran will handle the protests and whether other world leaders will get involved.
