Seoul: The recent U.S. bombings of Iranian nuclear sites could open up the possibility of another meeting between U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, akin to their previous encounter at the inter-Korean border in 2019, an American expert suggested.
According to Yonhap News Agency, Victor Cha, president of the Geopolitics and Foreign Policy Department at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), posited that such a meeting would occur under "a different context," with Kim potentially seeking security assurances rather than denuclearization. During a panel discussion hosted by the CSIS, Cha remarked on Trump's affinity for the North Korean leader and noted Trump's scheduled attendance at the APEC summit in Korea at the end of October, which could provide an opportunity for another meeting at Panmunjom.
Panmunjom, the truce village within the Demilitarized Zone separating the two Koreas, was the site of a historic meeting between Trump and Kim in June 2019. Cha speculated that the recent U.S. military actions might prompt Kim to seek guarantees against similar strikes on North Korea.
Cha referenced the U.S. airstrikes using B-2 bombers on three key nuclear sites in Iran on June 21 and 22. Trump described the operation as successful, asserting that the sites were "obliterated." The U.S. military action against Iran, Cha suggested, could reignite nuclear dialogue between Washington and Pyongyang, which has been stalled since talks in Hanoi in early 2019 ended without a deal.
Cha noted that North Korea might feel validated in their pursuit of nuclear capabilities, stating, "One of the costs of our bombing of Iran is that we may have ended CVID with North Korea." CVID stands for complete, verifiable, and irreversible denuclearization of North Korea, a key component of previous nuclear negotiations.
Since returning to the White House, Trump has referred to North Korea as "a nuclear power," leading to speculation about a potential shift in U.S. policy away from denuclearization talks towards an arms control deal. Cha emphasized that North Korea's takeaway from the U.S. strikes on Iran is the need to maintain their weapons to deter similar military actions.
Cha concluded that, paradoxically, the U.S. strike against Iran might encourage North Korea and the U.S. to return to the negotiating table.