![handle is hein.crs/govegzh0001 and id is 1 raw text is: Congressional Research Service
Informing th legislative cI ba o sinceo 1914
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 of Korea (DPRK, North Korea's official name). A
focus of these efforts has been the DPRK's nuclear and
missile programs, which have emerged as threats to the
U.S. homeland and U.S. East Asian allies, particularly
South Korea and Japan. Over the decades, the United States
and North Korea also have discussed normalizing relations,
officially ending the Korean War after nearly 70 years, and
improving human rights conditions in North Korea. Since
2019, following the collapse of personal diplomacy
between former President Donald Trump and North Korean
leader Kim Jong-un, Pyongyang largely has ignored
attempts by the Trump and Biden Administrations to
resume dialogue. Kim's reluctance to engage also may be
due to his response to Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-
19); North Korea has closed its borders since early 2020.
The Biden Administration says it is pursuing a calibrated,
practical approach that is open to and will explore
diplomacy with North Korea to eventually achieve the
complete denuclearization of the 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
Administration's approach appears to envision offering
partial sanctions relief in exchange for partial steps toward
denuclearization. Incremental sanctions relief could be
difficult to accomplish without congressional support, given
limitations enacted into law. U.S. officials say they have
offered to meet with North Korea without preconditions,
and that the ball is in [Pyongyang's] court. Some analysts
characterize the Administration's approach as overly
passive, offering little substantive content in its public
efforts to engage, instead emphasizing coordination with
Seoul to prevent U.S.-South Korea disagreements over
DPRK policy from surfacing.
In the near term, many analysts worry Kim will abandon his
unilateral moratorium on nuclear tests and long-range
ballistic missile tests. Pyongyang has resumed short- and
medium-range ballistic missile tests-unleashing seven
launches in early 2022-continues to enhance its military
capabilities, and conducts cyberattacks around the globe.
Background
In 2018, following two years of a steadily escalating crisis
that threatened to erupt into military conflict, Trump and
Kim defused tensions. Departing from the working-level
bureaucratic approaches undertaken by previous U.S.
administrations, Trump and Kim's personal diplomatic
efforts relied on summits and leader-to-leader
Updated February 3, 2022
communication. The pair exchanged more than 25 letters
and held 3 meetings: in Singapore (June 2018); Hanoi
(February 2019); and Panmunjom, on the inter-Korean
border (June 2019). U.S.-DPRK talks were
complemented-and at times facilitated-by increased
diplomacy between North and South Korea. Ultimately, the
talks collapsed in 2019 due to differences over the scope
and sequencing of DPRK denuclearization measures sought
by the United States in exchange for sanctions relief.
President Joe Biden has indicated that he will pursue a more
traditional diplomatic approach that emphasizes working-
level talks and builds on earlier agreements with
Pyongyang. These include the 2018 joint declaration issued
in Singapore, in which Trump and Kim agreed to commit
to establish new bilateral relations, build a lasting and
stable peace regime, and cooperate to recover the remains
of thousands of U.S. troops unaccounted for from the
Korean War. Kim said he commits to work toward
complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula.
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 term for incremental dismantlement
of North Korea's nuclear program in step with gradual
sanctions relief, rather than trying for earlier and/or more
extensive DPRK denuclearization concessions. The
possibility of sanctions relief is complicated by
requirements in U.S. law that target not only weapons
programs but also human rights abuses, money laundering,
weapons trade, international terrorism, and cyber
operations. Members may also debate whether and how to
prod the Administration to more effectively deliver
humanitarian aid to the North Korean people despite
sanctions.
Key Developments
North Kores Nuclear and Missnle Programs
Kim in 2018 pledged permanent dismantlement of
nuclear weapons production facilities in Yongbyon-an
important nuclear site-as the United States takes
corresponding measures. The DPRK has partially shut
down some parts of its nuclear testing and missile
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 limits on DPRK missiles, or the mechanisms for
verifying any agreement, including inspection and
monitoring.](ViewImageLocal?handle=hein.crs/govegzh0001&div=1&collection=&method=preview&ext=.png&size=3)
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