Dialogue momentum may arise in 2026 to revive stalled NK-US diplomacy: think tank

The dialogue momentum for the United States and North Korea may arise next year based on cooperation between South Korea and the U.S., creating room for a possible breakthrough in the stalled diplomacy with Pyongyang, a think tank said Tuesday. The foreign ministry-affiliated Korea National Diplomatic Academy (KNDA) gave the outlook in its annual forecast report on international relations for 2026, citing North Korean leader Kim Jong-un's indications that he has not completely ruled out talks. "Based on cooperation between South Korea and the United States, opportunities might be created to revive North Korea–U.S. summit diplomacy and improve bilateral relations," Min Jeong-hoon, an analyst at the KNDA, said in the report. "While such momentum has not gained traction despite U.S. President Donald Trump's repeated calls for talks, Kim's remarks about returning to dialogue indicate that he is willing to improve relations with the U.S. and could return to the negotiating table if conditions for dialogue are in place," he said. Min said that Seoul and Washington will focus on creating "conWeiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Korea Times Weiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Korea Times