US to face more ‘confident’ Pyongyang in denuclearisation talks in Sweden

With the departure of John Bolton, the US’ hawkish former national security adviser, North Korea is seeing an opportunity to strike a deal on sanctions relief

Donald Trump is under renewed pressure to deliver results as he faces impeachment inquiry and looming 2020 US election

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North Korean ambassador Kim Myong-gil. Photo: Kyodo

Published: 7:00am, 5 Oct 2019Updated: 5:36am, 1 May 2020

Officials from the United States and North Korea on Saturday arrived to begin nuclear talks at an isolated conference centre on the outskirts of Stockholm, days after Pyongyang launched what it described as a new kind of submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM).

The working-level talks mark the first official contact between the sides since US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un met briefly at the inter-Korean border in June, following one-on-one summits in Singapore and Hanoi that produced few concrete steps by the North toward nuclear disarmament.

Ryo Hinata-Yamaguchi, a visiting professor at Pusan National University in South Korea, said Pyongyang would go into the negotiations feeling confident after its latest missile test.

“Currently, North Korea has the upper hand in the way that they’ve been able to continuously push the envelope with the series of missile tests, and work in an advantageous environment where there’s a lack of coordination and cooperation between the US, South Korea, and Japan,” Hinata-Yamaguchi said. “At the same time, if North Korea ever feels dissatisfied or threatened, it will simply turn up the voltage in the brinkmanship diplomacy and justify further provocative actions.”

Kim Myong-gil, Pyongyang’s chief nuclear negotiator, on Thursday arrived in Sweden, where the two sides previously held talks ahead of Trump and Kim’s second summit in February. North Korean state media earlier this week said talks would begin on Saturday, after the sides made “preliminary contact” on Friday. US officials have yet to confirm details such as the time, location or personnel for the meetings.

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