Former U.S. special envoy for North Korea policy Joseph Yun said North Korea’s main goals in talks with the United States would likely be to win sanctions relief and secure acceptance of its nuclear weapons.
Yun, who served as acting U.S. ambassador to South Korea until October last year, made the remarks at an event hosted by the U.S.-Korea Parliamentary Exchange Center Thursday.
When asked about incentives that might bring North Korea back to the negotiating table, he said the regime has two priorities. He said the first is lifting sanctions, and the second is having its nuclear arsenal acknowledged and accepted at some level.
Yun said this would not make North Korea a formally recognized nuclear-weapons state like the United States, China or Russia, but rather place it closer to countries such as Pakistan, which possess nuclear weapons in practice without formal recognition
The former envoy also said North Korean leader Kim Jong-un is currently not prepared to resume talks with the United States. He cited Kim’s disappointment with the second Trump-Kim summit in Hanoi in 2019 and ongoing economic gains from activities such as sending workers abroad and cryptocurrency theft.
Yun said he believes Washington still wants dialogue, but that Kim is not ready at this time to engage.
He added that South Korea remains a central factor in any U.S.-North Korea talks, and that Washington cannot negotiate with Pyongyang without Seoul’s participation.