According to a top North Korean diplomat who recently defected to South Korea, if Donald Trump is reelected, North Korea wants to resume nuclear talks with the United States and is developing a new negotiation approach.
Last month, Ri Il Gyu’s escape from Cuba made headlines worldwide. Since 2016, he was the highest-ranking diplomat from North Korea to defect to the South. In his first interview with foreign media, Ri stated that North Korea’s top foreign policy priorities for the coming year and beyond are the United States, Japan, and Russia.
According to Ri, Pyongyang was eager to resume nuclear talks while fortifying ties with Russia in the event that Trump—who, in his previous term, engaged in both intense brinkmanship and unprecedented diplomacy with North Korea—is reelected in November. According to him, Pyongyang’s diplomats were formulating a plan for such eventuality, hoping to get financial assistance, have its status as a state sponsor of terrorism removed, and have sanctions on its weapons programs lifted.
His remarks suggest that the North may be changing its position from its current one, which has been abandoning the prospect of diplomatic relations with the United States and threatening armed conflict. Sanctions prevented Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un from meeting in Vietnam in 2019.
“Kim Jong Un doesn’t know much about international relations and diplomacy, or how to make strategic judgment. This time, the foreign ministry would definitely gain power and take charge, and it won’t be so easy for Trump to tie North Korea’s hands and feet again for four years without giving anything,” he said.
North Korea benefitted from assistance for its economy and missile technology by establishing stronger connections with Russia. However, blocking new sanctions and weakening current ones might be more advantageous, according to Ri, who also added that Pyongyang’s negotiating leverage over Washington would increase.
