Seoul: A former U.S. deputy secretary of state expressed on Tuesday that North Korea’s security issue is likely to quickly ascend to the top of the policy agenda for the upcoming Trump administration. Stephen Biegun, who previously served as the U.S. deputy secretary of state and top nuclear negotiator, made these remarks amid expectations that President-elect Donald Trump may seek to renew his diplomatic engagement with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un after taking office in January.

According to Yonhap News Agency, Biegun emphasized that the North Korean issue would not remain low on the agenda for long, suggesting that North Korea itself might take actions to ensure it receives attention. His comments were made during a forum hosted by The Korea Society, where he noted the possibility of Trump revisiting his personal diplomatic approach with Kim, a strategy employed during Trump’s first term.

Trump’s previous term included direct leader-to-leader diplomacy with Kim, leading to three meetings, including a
historic summit in Singapore in 2018. However, nuclear negotiations have stalled since the no-agreement summit in Hanoi in February 2019. Biegun anticipates some engagement with North Korea but noted it might not be the highest priority, despite Trump’s campaign references to his relationship with Kim Jong-un.

Biegun also highlighted the changing geopolitical landscape that future U.S. negotiators will face, referencing tensions such as the war in Ukraine and the unprecedented deployment of North Korean troops outside the Korean Peninsula. He warned of the significant implications these actions have for North Korean and U.S. interests, as well as the consequences North Korea might face due to its troop deployment to Russia.

He criticized North Korea’s troop involvement in Ukraine as contradictory to its ideology of juche, or self-reliance, pointing out how the regime now relies on Russia for support. This move, he argued, exposes North Korea to new geopolitical challenges and shifts the dynamics of its trad
itional isolationist stance.

Biegun stressed the importance of maintaining the goal of denuclearization in any future negotiations with North Korea, warning against recognizing North Korea as a nuclear weapons state. He cautioned that such recognition could trigger further nuclear proliferation beyond North Korea.