Exclusive | North Korea weighing a return to talks as missile launch boosts its bargaining power, US nuclear expert says
Security specialist who helped organise informal talks between the US and North Korea says Washington should focus on preventing Pyongyang from further developing ICBM
Pyongyang’s latest successful intercontinental ballistic missile test has given it confidence in its negotiating power and it is seriously considering a return to talks, a top US nuclear expert who helped organise informal talks between Washington and Pyongyang said.
Suzanne DiMaggio, senior fellow at the Washington-based New America Foundation, also told the South China Morning Post in an exclusive interview that the US should seize the moment with a dual strategy of “maximum pressure and engagement” to hold talks with Pyongyang, while backing up its move with pressure such as sanctions.
“The best bet would be to focus on preventing the further development of Pyongyang’s ICBM capabilities through an agreement that would suspend their nuclear and missile testing,” DiMaggio said.
“My sense is that the North Koreans recognise they have to make some consequential decisions in the near term and they are exploring possible options,” she said. “They seem to understand they are going to have to re-engage at some point to reduce tensions because we are fast approaching a point of crisis.”
DiMaggio said that while the goal of denuclearising the Korean peninsula shouldn’t be abandoned, “there is a need to be realistic and set it aside, at least in the near term”.