![handle is hein.crs/goveefn0001 and id is 1 raw text is: Diplomacy with North Korea: A Status Report
Overview
Since the early 1990s, the United States periodically has
engaged in diplomacy with the Democratic People's
Republic ofKorea (DPRK, North Korea's officialname). A
central focus ofthese efforts has beenthe DPRK's nuclear
and mis sile programs, which have emerged as threats to the
U.S. homeland and U.S. East Asian allies,particularly
South Korea andJapan. Over thedecades, the United States
and North Korea also have discussed bilateral
normalization, officially ending the Korean War, and
human rights in North Korea. Since 2019, following the
collapse of personal diplomacy between former President
Donald Trump and North Koreanleader KimJong-un,
Pyongyang largely has ignored attempts by the Trump and
Biden Administrations to resume dialogue. Kim's
reluctanceto engage also may be due to increased strains
from dealing with the COVID-19 outbreak, which led
North Korea to seal its borders in early 2020.
In April 2021, the Biden Administration announced it had
completed a review of U.S. DPRK policy, and that it will
pursueacalibrated, practical approach that is opento and
will explore diplomacy with North Korea to eventually
achieve the complete denuclearization ofthe Korean
Peninsula. U.N. Security Council and U.S. sanctions bar
nearly all of North Korea's exports and many of its imports,
with exceptions for livelihood and humanitarian purposes.
The Biden approach, overseen by a Special Representative
for the DPRK who concurrently serves as U.S. Ambas sador
to Indonesia, appears to envision offering partial sanctions
relief in exchange forpartial steps toward denuclearization.
Incremental sanctions relief could be difficult to accomplish
without congressional support, given limitations enacted
into law. U.S. officials say they havereached out to North
Korea, offering to meet without preconditions, and that the
ball is in [Pyongyang's] court. Some analysts characterize
the Administration's approach as overly passive, with little
substantive contentin its public offers to engage.
In the nearterm, some analysts worry thatDPRK leader
Kim will abandonhis November2017 unilateral
moratoriumon nuclear tests andlong-rangeballistic missile
tests. Pyongyang has resumed short- and medium-range
missile tests and taken other steps to enhance its military
capabilities since 2017. It also has continuedto conduct
cyberattacks aroundthe globe andexpand its efforts to
evade internationals anctions.
Background
In 2018, following two years of a steadily escalating crisis
that threatenedto erupt intomilitary conflict, Trump and
Kim defused tensions. Departing fromthe bottom-up
approaches undertaken by previous administrations, their
diplomatic efforts relied on summits and leader-to-leader
communication. Trump andKimexchangedmore than 25
letters and heldthree meetings: in Singapore (June2018);
Updated July 30, 2021
Hanoi (February 2019); and Panmunjom, on the inter-
Korean border (June 2019). The U.S.-DPRK diplomacy
was complemented-and at certain points facilitated-by
increased diplomacy between North and South Korea.
President Biden has indicated thathe will seekto return to a
more traditionaldiplomatic approach that emphasizes
working-level talks.
The Biden Administrationhas indicated that the United
States could build on 2018 agreements the United States
and South Korea separately reached with North Korea,
along with prior agreements negotiated with Pyongyang. In
a 2018 joint declaration is sued in Singapore, Trump and
Kim agreed to commit to establish new bilateralrelations,
build a lasting and stable peace regime, and cooperate to
recover the remains of thousands of U.S. troops
unaccounted for fromthe Korean War. Kim s aid he
commits to work toward complete denuclearization of the
Korean Peninsula. Subsequent negotiations in Hanoiin
2019 collapsed, however, due to differences over the scope
and sequencing of DPRK denuclearization measures
required in exchange for sanctions relief.
If U.S.-DPRK talks restart, Members of Congress could
debate the merits of the Biden Administration's apparent
aim to push in the near termfor incremental dismantlement
of North Korea's nuclear programin step with gradual
s anctions relief, rather than trying for earlier and/or more
extensive DPRK denuclearization concessions. The
pos sibility of sanctions relief is complicated by, among
other factors, U.S. leg alrequirements to address arange of
security, regional stability, human rights, and governance
is s ues before s anctions can be s uspended or altogether
terminated. U.S. sanctions onNorth Koreatarget not just
weapons development but also human rights abuses, money
laundering, weapons trade, international terrorism, and
cyber operations. Members may als o debate whether and
how to push the Administration to more effectively shield
humanitarian aid fromthe impact of s anctions.
Key Developments
North Korea's Nuclear and Missile Programs
Kim in 2018 publicly agreed to work toward complete
denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula, pledging
permanentdismantlement ofnuclearweapons
production facilities in Yongbyon-an important
nuclear site-as the United States takes corresponding
measures. The DPRKhas partially shut down some
parts of its nuclear testing andmissile launch sites. As
U.S.-DPRK talks stalled, promises to allow inspections
or completely dismantle sites went unfulfilled.
Under Trump and Kim, the two countries did not agree
on denuclearization steps, whether an agreement will
include DPRK missiles, or the mechanisms for verifying
any agreement, including inspection andmonitoring.](ViewImageLocal?handle=hein.crs/goveefn0001&div=1&collection=&method=preview&ext=.png&size=3)
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