Political Intelligence and Mindfulness of US and North Korean Leaders and Its Effect on Bilateral Relations within 2017-2019

In the contemporary international order, US-North Korea relations have long been fraught with a crisis over North Korea’s nuclear and missile program. The unrelenting march of the North Korean nuclear program and the US’ desire or will to destroy this threat have not only prolonged this crisis but exacerbated it. The North Korean leadership’s intellectual tradition, the nuclear program’s link to the nation’s defense and political identity, and the incoming Trump administration’s more aggressive policies compared to the Obama administration all contributed to the US-North Korean tensions. The main question concerns the effect of political intelligence and mindfulness on the decisions of American (Donald Trump) and North Korean (Kim Jong-un) leaders. The research hypothesis states that political intelligence and mindfulness have affected the decisions of North Korean and American leaders to unprecedented levels. US-North Korea relations are fraught with complexities and challenges. Therefore, this qualitative interpretive-comparative content analysis aims to gain a better insight into both leaders' political consciousness and mindfulness and its effect on bilateral relations. The findings show that the political intelligence of both political leaders affects their bilateral relations with specific political-security outcomes.