John Bolton’s exit ‘a win’ for North Korea in Trump-Kim denuclearisation talks, experts say

North Korea will welcome US President Donald Trump’s firing of his national security adviser as a sign of softening attitudes in Washington as the regime seeks to restart stalled denuclearisation talks, according to seven analysts canvassed by This Week in Asia.

Trump announced John Bolton’s departure on Tuesday night, saying his “services are no longer needed” after repeated policy disagreements.

Widely regarded as among the most hawkish figures in Washington, Bolton argued in favour of pre-emptive military action against the North and supported the “Libya model” of denuclearisation under which Muammar Gaddafi shipped key materials to the United States only to be toppled with the help of US forces seven years later.

The former US ambassador to the United Nations had repeatedly been singled out for invective in North Korean state media, which once labelled him “human scum” and a “war maniac”.

“Pyongyang has viewed Bolton as the biggest threat even since the time of the George HW Bush administration given his hardline views such as advocating regime change in North Korea,” said Ryo Hinata-Yamaguchi, a visiting professor at Pusan National University in South Korea.

“Given that North Korea has always expressed their dislike of Bolton, they would feel that Trump is flexible in meeting their demands. North Korea could move the goalpost in an attempt to persuade Trump to remove the other hardliners.