Former U. S. officials may meet North Korean representatives in New York, suggesting Kim Jong-un is open to talks.
For the first time in almost six years, representatives of the North Korean government may meet former U. S. officials in the United States. Preparations for the New York City meeting were first reported by the Washington Post , which added that it signals that “Pyongyang sees a potential opening with the Trump administration.” The Wall Street Journal reported last year that the United States and North Korea had explored formal talks in late 2015, before North Korea’s fourth nuclear test in January 2016 ended any momentum there. The last time U. S.-North Korea talks took place publicly in New York was July 2011 , but a 2013 meeting between the Obama administration’s former special envoy and North Korea’s UN Permanent Representative Han Song-ryol was reported to have taken place in March 2013.
These back-channel talks, if they do take place, will likely be exploratory. The former U. S. officials would look to see if North Korea would be open to entertaining the idea of a freeze on its nuclear program — something several North Korea experts have recommended recently, including Joel Wit (PDF) and John Delury. There is little consensus in the United States on this matter, however. Skeptics of engagement with North Korea point to Pyongyang’s duplicitous record in adhering to multiple diplomatic frameworks looking to limit its weapons programs, including the 1994 Agreed Framework and, more recently, the 2012 “Leap Day” deal, the Obama administration’s only serious attempt at direct diplomacy with North Korea.
The North Korean side, meanwhile, while unlikely to acquiesce to a denuclearization demand, may be open to a freeze with a concession that may prove too difficult for the United States to stomach: recognition of Pyongyang as a nuclear weapons state. As I’d discussed last fall, a long memorandum released by the North Korean Foreign Ministry implied that it would entertain an opening with the new U. S. administration. Additionally, while less important for a Track 1.
