In July, Ri Il Kyu, a Counselor at the North Korean Embassy in Cuba who recently defected to South Korea, claimed that North Korea plans to resume nuclear negotiations if Donald Trump wins the upcoming presidential election.
In an interview with Reuters, Counselor Ri revealed that diplomats in Pyongyang are preparing a new negotiation strategy. He explained that North Korean diplomats aim to lift sanctions, remove North Korea’s designation as a state sponsor of terrorism, and secure economic aid, all in anticipation of Trump’s potential victory. Ri attributed the failure of the 2019 North Korea-U.S. summit to Kim Jong Un’s decision to delegate the negotiations to an inexperienced and uninformed military.
Ri predicted, “This time, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs will surely take the lead with more power,” and added, “It won’t be easy for Trump to bind North Korea’s hands and feet for another four years.”
Ri also suggested that North Korea could use its close ties with Russia to block additional sanctions and undermine existing ones by receiving missile technology and economic support from Russia. He explained that this strategy could strengthen North Korea’s negotiating position with the United States.
He remarked, “Russia has dirtied its hands by engaging in illegal transactions, which means North Korea no longer needs to rely on the U.S. for sanctions relief. Essentially, this takes away a major bargaining chip from the U.S.”
Ri forecasted that Kim Jong Un might seek a summit with Japan to gain economic support while making concessions on the abduction issue.
Moreover, Ri mentioned that he attempted to prevent the establishment of diplomatic relations between Cuba and South Korea but was unsuccessful. He praised South Korea’s efforts to establish ties with Cuba, which began last year, as a model case demonstrating the historical and directional shift toward normalcy in the international community.
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