U.S.-North Korea diplomacy

Kim Jong Un will likely conduct more advanced weapons tests this year in his own version of “maximum pressure.”  

If North Korea conducted the recent missile tests in order to convince the U.S. to return to the negotiation table, Pyongyang should quickly change strategy.

Since the collapse of the U.S.-North Korea summit at Hanoi in February 2019, North Korea and the United States have been locked in a diplomatic impasse. 

In a Politburo meeting held on Wednesday, North Korea implied that its “confidence-building measures” can be withdrawn after the U.S. imposed sanctions over its ballistic missile tests.  

South Korea’s renewed push for an end-of-war declaration as a way to resume dialogue will be unsuccessful if not attached to practical steps for peace and denuclearization. 

South Korean President Moon Jae-in called for an end-of-war declaration in his U.N. address, but the other countries involved have different goals. 

While it has risks, implementing an arms control process would be the most promising way to guard against conflict on the Korean Peninsula.

North Korea appeared to fire an SLBM on Tuesday, ahead of a meeting between the U.S. and South Korea to discuss North Korea issues this weekend.

Even though Washington has reached out to Pyongyang with detailed messages through multiple channels, North Korea has not responded.  

Subnational diplomacy offers an established, yet underutilized, opportunity for American officials to creatively engage Pyongyang.

The North Korean leader said the inter-Korean hotlines will be restored in early October, but also warned against the arms buildup of South Korea and the U.S.