According to a senior US official and three sources familiar with the matter who spoke to Axios, the administration of US President Donald Trump is secretly holding discussions and consulting with outside experts to evaluate options for restarting dialogue with North Korea.
This development comes after Pyongyang has made concerning progress in its nuclear capabilities since the two dramatic but inconclusive summits between President Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.
While no concrete steps have been taken yet, it is stated that Trump wants to reconnect with Kim—possibly in person—and his national security team is preparing for this scenario.
It is currently noted that North Korea is low on Trump’s priority list, but it is rare for the world’s newest nuclear power to remain off the international agenda for long.
The senior US official said, “We are bringing agencies together to understand where the North Koreans are today. A lot has changed in the last four years. We are evaluating, diagnosing, and discussing potential paths, including engagement.”
Andrew Yeo, a senior expert at the Brookings Institution, said that “closed-door discussions involving think tank experts, current and former US officials, indicate that the Trump administration is evaluating different scenarios for another Trump-Kim meeting.”
Yeo added that Trump’s “many positive statements” about Kim in the last six months show his interest in this path.
A former senior US official stated that the administration has done some “initial planning.” The official said they know that a “flowery letter” from Kim could be enough to grab Trump’s attention, and then “the race would be on.”
Behind the scenes, it is understood that the Swedish ambassador representing US interests in North Korea visited Washington last week to consult with US officials and experts.
A source familiar with the visit said that its primary purpose was to understand Washington’s general inclination regarding engagement with Pyongyang.
Officials from the US Department of State and the National Security Council are also reported to have participated in multiple roundtables on North Korea with outside experts.
One of the sources stated that a topic raised in these closed meetings was who the North Korean counterparts might be if talks were to begin.
Almost all North Korean officials involved in diplomacy with the US during the first Trump administration—including the two summits—appear to have been purged or forced into re-education.
Jenny Town, director of the Korea program at the Stimson Center, assessed, “The North Koreans do not appear to have appointed a new special representative for US diplomacy and have not shown interest in negotiations for a long time.”
Town added, “While their stance on negotiation prospects has been less negative recently, they haven’t said anything positive yet either.”
The former senior US official told Axios that Pyongyang’s willingness to engage would depend on the nature of the meeting.
The former official stated that past talks focused on denuclearization, and it is unlikely that Kim would take this idea seriously at this point.
It was emphasized that North Korea’s nuclear power status is enshrined in the country’s constitution and the Kim family narrative.
The former official stated that if the meeting were about arms control and recognition of North Korea as a nuclear-armed state, “they would always have these meetings.”
However, it was noted that this would greatly concern South Korea and Japan, which could pursue nuclear armament.
It is assessed that it will be difficult for Trump to pressure Kim as he did in his first term, given North Korea’s nuclear advancements and stronger diplomatic position.
Chinese pressure on Pyongyang played a critical role during the first Trump term, but it is known that Beijing is not interested in pressuring Kim again on Trump’s behalf.
Meanwhile, North Korea has deepened its ties with its powerful ally in Moscow, especially after sending troops to Ukraine.
The senior US official blamed the Biden administration for Kim’s nuclear advancements, stating, “We are in a much worse situation today,” but acknowledged that some progress also occurred during the Trump era.
