Seoul: A former North Korean diplomat who defected to South Korea has suggested that Pyongyang may attempt to establish diplomatic relations with Washington and pursue partial sanctions removal if former U.S. President Donald Trump is reelected. Ri Il-gyu, who previously served as a counselor of political affairs at the North Korean Embassy in Cuba, made this statement during a forum in Seoul.
According to Yonhap News Agency, Ri, who defected to the South in November last year, believes that North Korean Foreign Minister Choe Son-hui might adopt a more cautious and pragmatic approach towards U.S.-North Korea relations compared to the strategies employed during Trump’s first term. Ri outlined that while North Korea’s minimum demands could include diplomatic recognition and partial sanctions relief, he does not anticipate the U.S. agreeing to these demands easily.
Ri expressed that with a Republican-controlled Washington, the U.S. might demand North Korea’s complete, verifiable, and irreversible denuclearizat
ion (CVID), which North Korea is likely to resist, aiming instead for nuclear arms reduction. He speculated that a compromise, such as a nuclear freeze, might be feasible, with Trump potentially willing to accept it as a political success.
On the subject of North Korea’s growing ties with Russia, highlighted by Pyongyang’s troop deployment to Moscow in the Ukraine war, Ri commented that international sanctions on North Korea might partially weaken, providing some respite, though the longevity of this close relationship remains uncertain. Ri further noted that if Russian President Putin concludes the Ukraine war and reintegrates into the international community, North Korea could become an uncomfortable partner, with its strategic interests with Russia diminishing.