Danish prime minister heads to Greenland as Trump seeks control of the territory

A boat rides through a frozen sea inlet outside of Nuuk, Greenland on March 6. Evgeniy Maloletka/AP hide caption

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Evgeniy Maloletka/AP

NUUK, Greenland — Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen is traveling to Greenland on Wednesday for a three-day trip aimed at building the trust of Greenlandic officials at a time that the Trump administration is seeking control of the vast Arctic territory.

Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen announced plans for her visit after U.S. Vice President JD Vance visited a U.S. air base in Greenland last week and accused Denmark of underinvesting in the territory.

Greenland is a mineral-rich, strategically critical island that is becoming more accessible due to climate change. Trump has said that the landmass is critical to U.S. security. It is part of North America but is a semiautonomous territory belonging to the Kingdom of Denmark.

Frederiksen is due to meet the incoming Greenlandic leader, Jens-Frederik Nielsen, after an election last month that produced a new government. She is also to meet with the future Naalakkersuisut, the Cabinet, in a visit due to last through Friday.

"It has my deepest respect how the Greenlandic people and the Greenlandic politicians handle the great pressure that is on Greenland," she said in government statement announcing the visit.

On the agenda are talks with Nielsen about cooperation between Greenland and Denmark.

For years, the people of Greenland, with a population of about 57,000, have been working toward eventual independence from Denmark.

The Trump administration's threats to take control of the island one way or the other, possibly even with military force, have angered many in Greenland and Denmark. The incoming government wants to take a slower approach on the question of eventual independence.

The political group in Greenland most sympathetic to the U.S. president, the Naleraq party that advocates a swift path toward independence, was excluded from coalition talks to form the next government.

Peter Viggo Jakobsen, associate professor at the Danish Defense Academy, said last week that Trump administration's aspirations for Greenland could backfire and push the more mild parties closer to Denmark.

He said that "Trump has scared most Greenlanders away from this idea about a close relationship to the United States because they don't trust him."