Trump: “Without America, you’re nothing”… Was North Korea’s choice justified?
President Trump and Ukrainian President Zelenskyy in the Oval Office having a heated argument over how to end the war on Feb. 28. Still image | White House YouTube
“You should be more grateful. You have no cards to play. If you’re with us, you have cards, but without us, you have no options. I made you strong. Without America, you cannot be strong.”
These were the words U.S. President Donald Trump said to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy during their meeting on February 28 in Washington. Watching this, I was reminded of a conversation I had with my father when I was younger.
I once told him, “We’re said to live in a strong and powerful country, but when I watch South Korean dramas or American movies, I feel like we are so poor.”
“The reason our country’s economy is struggling is because we are developing the only weapon that can protect us,” my father said. His point was that the only way we could protect ourselves from external forces was by having nuclear weapons and that this meant we had to sacrifice.
I’m not here to advocate for North Korea’s nuclear weapons or to justify them. However, Trump’s comment to Zelenskyy during the summit—that without America, Ukraine could not do anything—seemed to indirectly support the idea that a state should have its own weapons. In other words, it seemed to suggest that North Korea’s claim that it needs nuclear weapons to protect itself holds some weight.
The public disagreement in the White House on February 28 over how to end the war with Russia ended without a conclusion. But it led to a decision to halt US military aid to Ukraine.
The public exchanges between the two leaders, broadcast live globally, have sparked strong reactions, particularly among Trump’s supporters. Elon Musk criticized Zelenskyy on his X account, stating, “Zelenskyy destroyed himself in the eyes of the American people,” while U.S. Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah expressed his support for Trump and Vice President Vance, thanking them for “standing up for OUR COUNTRY and putting America first!”
On the other hand, many on social media, including accounts from The New York Times and BBC, expressed support for Zelenskyy. They criticized Trump and the vice president, stating things like “We support Ukraine,” “Zelenskyy will be remembered as a true hero who fought for democracy and freedom, and didn’t sell out his country,” and “It’s disgraceful to see President Trump and Vice President Vance isolate Zelensky on live television.”
In a poll conducted by The Economist YouGov, among 1,600 American adults, both Trump and Zelenskyy garnered 47% approval among Americans. However, Trump’s disapproval rate was 49%, while Zelenskyy’s was considerably lower at 28%.
Zelenskyy’s approval was highest among Americans over 65 years old at 60%, while Trump’s approval was highest among white Americans, at 54%.
Moreover, after the summit’s failure, Zelenskyy’s approval rating in Ukraine reportedly rose by 28%, according to Gradders Research. Another Ukrainian polling agency, Rating, also showed that Zelenskyy’s support rose to 65% after the failed summit, reversing a previous decline caused by the prolonged war.
Experts believe that this spike in Zelenskyy’s approval may be linked to Trump’s rejection of his demand for “security guarantees” from the U.S., a point Zelenskyy had emphasized consistently before the summit.
During the summit, Zelenskyy had hoped that an agreement on minerals would be the first document to ensure Ukraine’s safety. He requested that the U.S. guarantee Ukraine’s security, but Trump quickly rejected this demand, stating, “Without us, you have no cards to end the war. Negotiate, or we’re out.” This rejection led to growing Ukrainian sentiment that without security guarantees, a ceasefire would be impossible, and they shouldn’t agree to an unfair deal that only benefits resource extraction, with no security backing. This shift in opinion helped boost Zelenskyy’s support.
In the wake of the failed summit, the U.S. began to discuss the possibility of Zelenskyy stepping down, suggesting that Ukraine might need a new leader capable of negotiating with Russia to end the war. National Security Advisor Mike Waltz stated in a CNN interview on March 3, “We need a leader who can negotiate with the U.S. and ultimately make peace with Russia.”
The failure of the U.S.-Ukraine summit has sparked divided opinions worldwide, with North Korean defectors also expressing differing views.
Political negotiations can only happen when you’re willing to talk—even with the devil
Pusan National University Professor Kim Seong-ryeol, the first defector to become tenured, shared his views during a special lecture for young people on March 1.
“Diplomacy must exclude emotions and focus solely on the interests of the nation,” he said, “President Trump is a businessman. He will only consider the national interest. From Trump’s perspective, Ukraine is not an equal ally but a country receiving aid from the United States.”
“Summits typically proceed with some prior agreements. It’s regrettable that the summit failed due to a heightened argument,” he said. “Politics is about dialogue. Political negotiation is possible only when one is willing to talk even to the devil.”
Kim Geum-hwa, a defector studying international relations at Ewha Womans University, commented, “If people in North Korea were watching this broadcast, it might have prompted them to think that having nuclear weapons is justifiable. For a moment, I thought that North Korea’s stance of self-reliance through nuclear weapons might be correct.”
“President Zelenskyy frequently mentioned before the summit that the U.S. had not promised to provide security guarantees,” she said. “In fact, the involvement of American companies in rare earth mining is essentially a guarantee. However, I couldn’t understand why the U.S. continued to refuse security guarantees. I’m curious about Trump’s intentions. Whether the failure of the summit will benefit Russia and North Korea is something we will have to wait and see.”
Dr. Choi Ye-seo, a North Korea expert, explained, “Trump’s refusal to mention military intervention or firm security guarantees like US troop deployments seems to reflect his desire to avoid unnecessary costs related to relations with Putin and military deployment for security purposes.”
“Trump’s goal is to recover the costs spent on Ukraine, which amounts to 174.5 trillion wo,” she said. “His supporters expect this to be returned through rare earth mining. When Trump forced Zelenskyy to express gratitude and change his attire at the mineral agreement table, I wondered what exactly the U.S. wanted.”
“The failure of the summit is likely to be an event that will raise the spirits of Pyongyang and Moscow. I’m curious to see Russia’s next move,” she said.
In fact, Dmitry Peskov, the Kremlin spokesperson, commented along these lines in a March 2 interview with a Russian broadcaster.
“The new U.S. administration is rapidly changing its foreign policy,” he said. “This largely aligns with our vision.” He evaluated the steps after the U.S.-Ukraine summit positively. Konstantin Kosachev, chairman of the Russian Federation Council’s Foreign Affairs Committee, also expressed optimism in a Telegram post, saying, “If Ukraine has something to expect, it is progress in Russia-U.S. relations.”
Supporters of Trump have argued that Zelenskyy was insufficiently grateful to the U.S. In response, a media outlet published an article noting that Zelenskyy had formally thanked the U.S. 33 times. The controversial attire was the same one President Zelenskyy had worn at official meetings since the Russian invasion. Even Winston Churchill, the former British Prime Minister, wore a khaki suit instead of a formal suit when he visited President Franklin D. Roosevelt at the White House during wartime, to signify the ongoing war. What, then, did Trump truly want?
CNN analyzed the collapse of the summit, stating, “President Trump’s harsh criticism of Zelenskyy in the Oval Office during the last meeting was a planned political ‘strong-arm tactic,'” and “The Trump administration set a trap to discredit the Ukrainian leader and eventually exclude him from all matters.”
It’s hard to understand why President Trump, who prioritizes the interests of his own country, would allow a trivial issue like attire to derail the summit. However, if this was a carefully orchestrated trap, then he staged it flawlessly. By portraying Zelenskyy as rude, he won the favor of MAGA supporters while simultaneously managing his relationship with Putin.
Under the 1994 Budapest Memorandum signed by the U.S., Russia, and the UK, Ukraine gave up its nuclear weapons in exchange for U.S. security assurances. That promise has now become an empty echo over time. The U.S. must honor that promise, but the current U.S. is no longer the same as the U.S. of the past.
The failure of the Ukraine-U.S. summit may leave us with the message: “He who relies on someone else’s sword often dies by it.”
Jia defected from North Korea in search of basic freedoms, including the right to travel and freely express herself. Her identity as a North Korean has given her a sense of responsibility to represent the voices of her family and hometown friends and is also the reason she has chosen to work as a journalist.
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