Kurt Campbell: "North Korea's recognition as a nuclear state is a condition for dialogue... difficult for Trump to accept"

(Washington = Yonhap News) Correspondent Lee Yu-mi = Former U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Kurt Campbell predicted on the 9th (local time) that North Korea is demanding recognition of its status as a nuclear state as a condition for the North Korea-US summit, but that it will be virtually impossible for President Donald Trump, whose political standing has diminished after the midterm elections, to accept this.

Former Deputy Secretary Campbell, chairman of the Asia Group, a U.S. think tank, met with journalists from the Asia-Pacific region, including Yonhap News Agency, and said, "As far as I understand, North Korea has conveyed its position that the only condition under which it can consider a summit is if the United States recognizes North Korea as a nuclear state."

He continued, “Considering the current situation, it is almost impossible for President Trump to accept this, and both Republicans and Democrats in the United States will immediately backlash.”

At the same time, he predicted that even if a North Korea-US summit were held, “it will be difficult to achieve progress beyond a handshake due to these political conditions.”

Former Deputy Secretary Campbell cited the complicated political situation in the United States following the November 3 midterm elections, in which the Republican Party was defeated, as an obstacle to resuming diplomacy between North Korea and the United States.

He said, "President Trump's ambition to resume substantive diplomacy with North Korea has now become more difficult. Going forward, there will be an outpouring of blatant criticism and criticism from within the United States regarding any actions President Trump takes on the international stage."

It has been reported that President Trump has shown an active will to resume dialogue with North Korea by requesting mediation from China.

Former Deputy Secretary Campbell said, “I understand that President Trump has asked Chinese officials and Chinese President Xi Jinping for help in promoting dialogue between North Korea and the United States.”

During his first term in office, from 2018 to 2019, President Trump held two summit meetings with North Korean Chairman Kim Jong-un and also met at Panmunjom, but after the collapse of the Hanoi talks, North Korea-US negotiations reached a stalemate.

President Trump has expressed his intention to resume dialogue with North Korea even after returning to power last year, but North Korea has demanded withdrawal of its demand for denuclearization and recognition of its status as a nuclear state.

Meanwhile, former Deputy Minister Campbell also paid attention to the competition for influence between China and Russia surrounding North Korea.

He analyzed, “What China currently values ​​most on the North Korean issue is that China still maintains its position as the most important interlocutor even in situations where North Korea cooperates with Russia.”

He continued, “In fact, a subtle competition is taking place between China and Russia over North Korea,” and “Kim Jong-un has been walking a tightrope between the two countries very effectively.”