Biegun, who led working-level North Korea talks under the first Trump administration, says Pyongyang will watch US midterm results; cites experts in calling for realistic approach with denuclearization as long-term goal

Former US Special Representative for North Korea Stephen Biegun. [Reuters]
Former US Special Representative for North Korea Stephen Biegun. [Reuters]

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Stephen Biegun, the former US Special Representative for North Korea, said a scenario in which President Donald Trump visits Pyongyang is possible, and said South Korea must play a central role in any resumption of US-North Korea dialogue.

Biegun made the remarks Thursday (local time) in a keynote address at a conference in Incheon organized by the Korea Risk Group, which operates NK News, according to NK News.

Biegun said Trump has been sending public signals to North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and that Kim has not closed the door, adding that Pyongyang will likely wait to see the outcome of the US midterm elections in early November.

He said the midterm results would serve as a gauge of Trump's political standing — and, from North Korea's perspective, an indicator of whether it can extract what it wants from the president.

Biegun said Trump may be considering a meeting with Kim after the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Shenzhen, China, on Nov. 28-29, and predicted that "it would not be surprising" if Trump proposed holding such a meeting in Pyongyang.

He said South Korea must play a central and indispensable role in achieving lasting peace on the Korean Peninsula.

Biegun said that during US-North Korea talks under the first Trump administration, he consistently worked to ensure South Korea was included at both the working and summit levels. "Ultimately, what we are talking about is the Korean Peninsula. Whatever happens and whatever is agreed, the safety and welfare of the Korean people is the primary concern," he said. "No one has a greater stake in the outcome. South Korea must play a central role in future diplomacy," he added.

The remarks were widely interpreted as a warning against the possibility that Trump, in pursuing top-down diplomacy with Kim, could bypass coordination with South Korea, a key US ally.

"Through clear prioritization and coordination with Northeast Asian allies to the extent possible, the United States could use renewed dialogue with North Korea as an opportunity to slow or freeze the North's nuclear buildup, enhance security and stability on the Korean Peninsula, and improve inter-Korean relations," Biegun said. "Showy summits won't help much, but quiet and sustained diplomacy that seeks a combination of incentives and mutual concessions could be meaningful," he added.

Drawing on the views of multiple Korean Peninsula experts, he said denuclearization should remain the ultimate goal but that including it in any early agreement between Washington and Pyongyang would not be realistic.

The position is notable given that Biegun spent much of the first Trump administration negotiating intensively with North Korea over an exchange of denuclearization steps for corresponding measures. His willingness to cite expert opinion in favor of deferring denuclearization and taking a more pragmatic approach marks a significant shift in his public stance.

However, Biegun cautioned that such an approach to North Korea could fuel calls for South Korea and Japan to develop their own nuclear weapons, and said the United States must reinforce its defense commitments to its allies to prevent the nonproliferation regime from unraveling.

Biegun also said North Korea should weigh the possibility of Russia losing the war in Ukraine. The deeper Pyongyang becomes entangled in the conflict by supporting Moscow, he warned, the more hostile an international environment it will face after a Russian defeat.

Biegun was a central figure in working-level negotiations surrounding the US-North Korea summits during the first Trump administration and maintained close communication with the South Korean government throughout. He also served as the chief US representative at the last round of working-level talks between Washington and Pyongyang, held in Stockholm, Sweden, in October 2019, and later served as Deputy Secretary of State.


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