March 12, 2019
The Hanoi Summit – We Asked Kristine Lee What Happens Next in U.S.-North Korea Relations
This past year, Kim Jong-un achieved foreign-policy breakthroughs long sought by his family’s regime through a combination of deft diplomacy, a burgeoning nuclear program, and low-level provocations against the United States and its allies. This has included inflammatory rhetoric, missile launches over Japanese airspace, and cyber-attacks on South Korean companies. There was, predictably, a pause in these provocations in the lead-up to the second Trump-Kim summit in February.
But in the aftermath of Hanoi, Pyongyang is likely to pivot away from a conciliatory tack with the United States. Just days after leader-level talks ground to halt, new evidence emerged suggesting that Pyongyang was rebuilding a missile launch site it had previously indicated it was dismantling. The lack of concerted response to such bad behaviors may ultimately solidify Pyongyang’s judgment that they are an effective long-term strategy for setting the terms of engagement with the United States.
Read the full article in The National Interest.
Read Neil Bhatiya's response.
More from CNAS
-
Commentary
The global consequences and stakes are too high to allow the regime’s nuclear weapons program to advance even further....
By Duyeon Kim
-
Commentary
Southeast Asia will most likely continue to grapple with North Korean sanctions evasions and financial crime, but now the region has a new precedent to build upon....
By Jason Bartlett
-
Podcast
Duyeon Kim joins WPR’s Elliot Waldman on the Trend Lines podcast this week to break down the multilayered messaging from the recent party congress and what to expect from Nort...
By Duyeon Kim
-
Commentary
For decades, North Korea's authoritarian dictatorship has threatened Northeast Asia's regional stability, challenged U.S. interests, and subjected its own citizens to an unpar...
By Joshua Fitt, Jason Bartlett, Chris Estep, Cole Stevens & Kristine Lee