Kim Jong-un ’s New Line and U.S. Negotiating Strategy

If President Trump wants to have a successful summit with Kim Jong-un then it ’s important to understand the domestic political incentives that will shape Kim’s approach to negotiations. On April 20th, Kim gave a major speech at a plenum meeting of the Workers ’ Party of Korea. Most U.S. media outlets focused on the announcement that the Northwould dismantle its nuclear testing facility andstop ballistic missile tests, but the speech also revealed important information about Kim ’s political incentives that received less attention.During a plenum meeting in March 2013, Kim announced the“byungjinline, ” which stated that the North would develop its economy and nuclear arsenal simultaneously. North Korea ’s nuclear weapons program has made significant progress in the five years since thebyungjin line was first announced. Kim acknowledged this progress in his April 20th speech when he declared that thebyungjinline was successfully concluded. He also announced a “new strategic line” that focuses on economic and scientific development.The end of thebyungjinline and announcement of a new overarching strategy for North Korea shortly before the Trump-Kim summit has major implications for the Trump administration ’s negotiating strategy.The April 20th speech indicates that Kim ’s primary objective in negotiations will be getting sanctions relief, because lifting sanctions is essential for achieving the economic development objective of the new strategic line. The...
Source: Cato-at-liberty - Category: American Health Authors: Source Type: blogs