To defuse tensions with North Korea, let the European Union try

North Korea has declared South Korea an enemy and shown no interest in responding to US overtures

Without the baggage of hostile relations, the European Union can engage North Korean in dialogue and at least learn about Pyongyang’s intentions

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Employees of the Kim Jong Thae Electric Locomotive Complex pose for a photo as they read a copy of the Rodong Sinmun newspaper covering North Korea’s demolition of the North-South joint liaison office, in Pyongyang on June 17, 2020. Photo: AFP

Rob York

Rob York is a Hawaii-based policy analyst.

Published: 5:30am, 28 Mar 2024Updated: 6:02am, 28 Mar 2024

North Korea has no interest in talking to the United States. This is evident from the lack of any dialogue with Washington since Joe Biden became president and occasional statements from the Biden administration that Pyongyang is not responding to its overtures.

That would be bad enough, except North Korea also has no interest in talking to South Korea. Many in the North Korea-watching commentariat have debated the meaning of Pyongyang’s recent statements that define South Korea as an enemy with whom unification is not possible.

Do they intend war? Do they see themselves as a separate regime in perpetuity? Is it all a bluff in the hopes for a change in administrations in Washington later this year? Whatever the rationale is, dialogue with Yoon Suk-yeol’s conservative administration in Seoul can be ruled out.

North Korea refused to talk to Yoon’s past conservative predecessors and is likely to continue that trend. Furthermore, the coming of a second Donald Trump administration may not result in a new age of negotiations – at least not at first.