Is Donald Trump Done Talking to North Korea?

Daniel R. DePetris

Security,

If 2019 was the year when U.S.-North Korea diplomacy went off the rails, 2020 may turn out to be the year when everybody stops pretending diplomacy is still going on.  

If 2019 was the year when U.S.-North Korea diplomacy went off the rails, 2020 may turn out to be the year when everybody stops pretending diplomacy is still going on.  

A February 10 CNN report cites two unnamed U.S. officials stating that President Donald Trump has largely written off direct negotiations with Kim Jong-un this year. The sources describe a president who is frustrated with where the diplomatic process is and antsy about doing anything that could remotely throw a wrench into his re-election prospects. A man who was once so eager to meet with Kim that he bucked the advice of his national security advisers is now lethargic about the entire thing. Trump now looks at the North Korea portfolio and sees nothing but trouble, an issue to avoid until after he wins a second term (assuming, of course, he can pull it off). With the exception of a short, vague, non-binding, glossy press release between Trump and Kim that pushes details to a later date, Trump’s diplomatic gamble with the North is resting on a wobbly foundation. 

As one U.S. official told CNN, negotiations are “dead.” One can't think of another word more depressing in the annals of diplomacy.  

Things don’t look especially welcoming for U.S.-North Korea diplomacy right now.