The Room Where It Happened: A White House Memoir

by John Bolton

The “transcript” of my version of Xi’s “comments” to Kim is as follows: “Look, Jong Un, you can’t trust Trump no matter how many nice letters he writes. He’s trying to sucker you, like all capitalist salesmen. Don’t fall for it. What Trump really wants is to turn North Korea into South Korea. Trump, Pompeo and Bolton are all the same. They only appear different so they can mess with your head. Americans have short-term minds. They are erratic and inconsistent, and they can’t be trusted. What’s more, Moon Jae-in thinks like they do, except he’s even worse. He’s a pacifist. We can run all over Moon, but the Americans understand power. “That’s why you have to stick with me. It’s the only way for you to keep your nuclear-weapons program, get real financial aid, and hold on to

power. If you proceed down this road of negotiations with the Americans, you’re going to be hanging from a tree in Pyongyang before too long, I guarantee it. Stick with me. “All you have to do is keep hiding your nuclear weapons, missiles, and production facilities. Our friends in Iran will continue testing your missiles as they have for two decades. In return, you can build them nuclear warheads in your hidden underground plants. I will buy more Iranian oil and increase our capital investment there, offsetting US sanctions. Iran will do what I say after that. “To deceive the US, keep giving back their soldiers’ bones. They get very emotional about such things. Same with Japan. Send back the bodies of the people your father kidnapped. Abe will weep in public, and start giving you suitcases full of dollar bills. “Right now, I’m in a trade war with Trump. He’s inflicting some damage on China’s economy, and if this trade war continues, it could hurt us badly. Fortunately, Trump is surrounded by Wall Street advisors who are just as short-term as most Americans and just as weak as Moon Jae-in.

I’ll agree to buy more of their precious soybeans and some of their technology (which I will then steal and sell back to their consumers at lower prices), and that will get them to back off. “When we get together next month, I’ll explain in more detail. I’ll also lay out aid packages that even Japan can’t match. I won’t violate any UN sanctions because I won’t have to. I’ll provide supplies and assistance the sanctions don’t cover, and I’ll hold the Border Police up from watching too closely at what’s going on. You’ll be fine. Not only do you not have to give up your nukes, pretty soon, you’ll be able to have South Korea fall...