US, North Korea to Hold Denuclearization Talks in Sweden

North Korea has high hopes of making progress with Bolton gone

For the first time in months, US and North Korean officials are going to be holding talks this weekend in Sweden. The talks are, according to reports, to be held in Sweden. Analysts say they are expecting North Korea to come in with more confidence and more aggressive positions.

These will be the first talks since the firing of John Bolton, a major opponent of the peace process. That he’s gone is sure to make North Korea happy, and likely would be a big reason to think the talks could make headway.

These are just working-level talks, so it’s not nearly as high stakes as a summit. Still, being the first time the two sides have met at all in quite some time means it’s likely to set the stage for a new attitude going into the process.

President Trump downplayed recent North Korean rocket tests as “very standard,” and insisted that so long as North Korea wants to negotiate, the US will be negotiating with them.

Author: Jason Ditz

Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.