SEOUL, Oct. 19 (UPI) — A Japanese journalist who was permitted to interview select North Koreans says people he spoke to are rooting for Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump.
Keisuke Fukuda, a member of the editorial staff of Japanese weekly magazine Toyo Keizai, said through interviews with North Koreans in Pyongyang and Wonsan he learned that they are “looking forward to change,” Voice of America reported on Wednesday.
“Because the U.S. Democratic party has continued to hold power, North Korea is looking forward to change, while keeping a watch on [election] results,” Fukuda said.
The journalist stated some North Koreans he spoke to were “anticipating certain shifts” if Trump was elected, while others said the Democrats were much more conducive to dialogue, according to the report.
North Koreans Fukuda spoke to also held somewhat positive views of former President Bill Clinton, and said that some interviewees were hoping Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton would “take the sincere stance of her husband, the former president,” while others thought the former first lady “does not seem to have much interest in North Korea.”
The reporter also said some North Koreans called the shutdown of a jointly operated factory park in Kaesong a “sad incident,” and others spoke critically of the politics of South Korean President Park Geun-hye.
A top Clinton aide has said the presidential candidate would take the toughest measures on North Korea if elected.
Clinton has stressed the importance of strengthening U.S. alliances with countries like Japan and South Korea, while Trump has suggested China take more responsibility for North Korea while falsely charging Korea and Japan of not paying for U.S. security.
Trump had also said in the course of his campaign he would be open to receiving North Korea’s Kim Jong Un for a visit to the United States.
