Trump team considers resuming talks with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un

US President-elect Donald Trump's team is aiming for direct talks with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un in the hope that diplomatic efforts can reduce the risk of conflict.

According to Reuters on November 27, citing two informed sources, some members of President-elect Trump's transition team see a direct approach to Mr. Kim Jong-un as appropriate to thaw the US-North Korea relationship. The sources said the policy discussions were still unclear and Mr. Trump had not yet made a final decision.

Mr. Trump returns to the White House, what will happen to US-North Korea relations?

It remains unclear how North Korean leader Kim Jong-un would react if Mr Trump offered direct talks. Earlier, in a speech at a military exhibition in Pyongyang, leader Kim Jong-un said: "We have gone as far as we can in negotiating with the US."

During his first presidential term from 2017 to 2021, Mr. Trump held three meetings with leader Kim Jong-un. However, bilateral diplomatic efforts have not yet yielded concrete results.

Donald Trump meets North Korean leader Kim Jong-un at Panmunjom on June 30, 2019

According to Reuters, Mr. Trump's immediate goal is to restart the US-North Korea commitments at a basic level, but there is currently no specific roadmap. In addition, the situation in North Korea may be put behind more urgent issues in the Middle East and Ukraine.

Last week, President-elect Trump nominated Alex Wong as his deputy national security adviser. Alex Wong was one of the key figures in Trump’s first term in office who implemented a direct engagement strategy with North Korea.

"As Deputy Special Representative for North Korea, he assisted in negotiating the US-North Korea Summit between me and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un," Trump said in his announcement of his nomination of Wong.

"My experience with President-elect Trump is that he is more likely to be open to direct engagement. I am optimistic that we could see an improvement in bilateral relations and perhaps Kim Jong-un could agree if the dialogue is reopened," said US Senator Bill Hagerty.

But the process of direct dialogue between the United States and North Korea also faces some challenges. North Korea is expanding a major weapons manufacturing complex to assemble short-range missiles that Russia has used in Ukraine. U.S. officials say these factors increase the risk of conflict between nuclear-armed states in Europe or Asia, including the United States and its allies.

In addition, President Biden asked Beijing to use its influence to urge North Korea to exercise restraint during a meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Peru in early November. However, opportunities for cooperation between the US and China may be limited as Mr. Trump threatens to raise tariffs on all Chinese goods imported into the US.

In addition, many of the new cabinet members nominated by President-elect Trump, such as Senator Marco Rubio for Secretary of State and Mr. Mike Waltz for National Security Advisor, are all people with a tough stance on China.

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/nhom-ong-trump-can-nhac-noi-lai-dam-phan-voi-lanh-dao-trieu-tien-kim-jong-un-185241127111317503.htm