Ri Il Gyu, a high-ranking North Korean diplomat who recently defected to South Korea, revealed in an interview with Reuters that North Korea is interested in reopening nuclear talks with the United States if Donald Trump wins re-election as president. The country is currently developing a new negotiation strategy to achieve this goal.
According to Ri, North Korea has prioritized Russia, the US and Japan as its top foreign policy targets for the coming years.While strengthening ties with Russia, Pyongyang aims to resume nuclear negotiations if Trump returns to office, with the objective of lifting sanctions on its weapons programs, removing its designation as a state sponsor of terrorism, and securing economic aid.
The diplomat believes that the foreign ministry will take charge of the negotiations this time, making it more difficult for Trump to restrict North Korea’s actions without offering concessions.
How will North Korea’s ties help?
Ri also discussed the benefits of North Korea’s closer ties with Russia, which include assistance with missile technology and the economy, as well as the potential to block additional sanctions and undermine existing ones.
He noted that “the Russians got their own hands dirty by engaging in illicit transactions and, thanks to that, North Korea no longer needs to rely on the US to lift sanctions, which essentially means they stripped the US of one key bargaining chip.”
Ri suggested that Kim Jong Un would be open to holding a summit with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, aiming to secure economic assistance in exchange for concessions on the issue of Japanese nationals abducted by North Korea in the 1970s and 80s. Further added that Kim would be willing to change the country’s position on the abductee issue, established under his father Kim Jong Il, to obtain economic support from Japan.
Who is Ri Il Gyu?
Ri, who studied at a French school in Algeria and lived in Cuba alongside his late father, a state media reporter, had long dreamed of a life in South Korea. However, it was not until he faced bullying from a colleague and was denied medical treatment in Mexico that he decided to defect.
The Covid-19 lockdown further exacerbated hardships at home and for those stationed abroad, with most telephone lines to Pyongyang cut to prevent information from spreading to the outside world.
Ri also shared his experience in trying to hinder the establishment of diplomatic relations between South Korea and Cuba, a long-time ally of North Korea.
Despite his efforts, he acknowledged that “establishing relations with Cuba was the best thing South Korea had done since last year,” and that it served as “a model example of how the tides of history have turned, and where a normal civilisation of the international community is headed.”
According to Ri, North Korea has prioritized Russia, the US and Japan as its top foreign policy targets for the coming years.While strengthening ties with Russia, Pyongyang aims to resume nuclear negotiations if Trump returns to office, with the objective of lifting sanctions on its weapons programs, removing its designation as a state sponsor of terrorism, and securing economic aid.
The diplomat believes that the foreign ministry will take charge of the negotiations this time, making it more difficult for Trump to restrict North Korea’s actions without offering concessions.
How will North Korea’s ties help?
Ri also discussed the benefits of North Korea’s closer ties with Russia, which include assistance with missile technology and the economy, as well as the potential to block additional sanctions and undermine existing ones.
He noted that “the Russians got their own hands dirty by engaging in illicit transactions and, thanks to that, North Korea no longer needs to rely on the US to lift sanctions, which essentially means they stripped the US of one key bargaining chip.”
Ri suggested that Kim Jong Un would be open to holding a summit with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, aiming to secure economic assistance in exchange for concessions on the issue of Japanese nationals abducted by North Korea in the 1970s and 80s. Further added that Kim would be willing to change the country’s position on the abductee issue, established under his father Kim Jong Il, to obtain economic support from Japan.
Who is Ri Il Gyu?
Ri, who studied at a French school in Algeria and lived in Cuba alongside his late father, a state media reporter, had long dreamed of a life in South Korea. However, it was not until he faced bullying from a colleague and was denied medical treatment in Mexico that he decided to defect.
The Covid-19 lockdown further exacerbated hardships at home and for those stationed abroad, with most telephone lines to Pyongyang cut to prevent information from spreading to the outside world.
Ri also shared his experience in trying to hinder the establishment of diplomatic relations between South Korea and Cuba, a long-time ally of North Korea.
Despite his efforts, he acknowledged that “establishing relations with Cuba was the best thing South Korea had done since last year,” and that it served as “a model example of how the tides of history have turned, and where a normal civilisation of the international community is headed.”
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