Feb 26, 2019

President Trump and Chairman Kim Jong Un will soon meet in Hanoi. In order to “build a lasting and stable peace regime on the Korean Peninsula,” the second summit will require the two actors to sit at the negotiation table with clear, realistic ideas about the scope of the discussion.

Jun 11, 2018

Ahead of the Trump-Kim summit, there is disagreement between the two parties on how denuclearization should be carried out — in progressive phases, or in a complete and irreversible dismantling of the program. The Center for International Security and Cooperation released a proposal for a three-phase “roadmap” to denuclearization, advocating for a risk management approach to the denuclearization process.

May 02, 2018

On April 27, South Korean President Moon Jae-in and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un started to write a potential new chapter in the history of inter-Korean relations. The signing of the Panmunjeom Declaration for Peace, Prosperity and Unification of the Korean Peninsula has given the Korean people a new reason to be optimistic about the future.

Apr 11, 2018

It is highly likely that the Kim-Trump summit will happen, as Pyongyang has been seeking direct talks with Washington for years. There is no better moment than this – during a reduction of tensions on the Korean peninsula – to finally give diplomacy a chance. It is time to recognize that the traditional approach, based on “maximum pressure and isolation,” has not led to any progress with North Korea. Whether the summit succeeds depends on what we expect from it. It would be fanciful to expect a meeting where Kim Jong Un agrees to give up his nuclear weapons. Rather, the summit represents a chance for the two parties to engage in constructive dialogue on how to draw a path, long and difficult, towards the management of the complex issues between them. The summit will succeed if, at its end, both parties have agreed to a timetable for future negotiations.

Mar 07, 2018

We cannot be too optimistic about the outcome of the recent “rapprochement” between South Korea and North Korea, because its base is fragile. The choice of sanctions as an attempt to halt North Korea’s nuclear programs has only benefited the regime at the expense of North Korean citizens.