US Envoy: Time Running Out on North Korea Deal

Biegun says no 'concrete evidence' North Korea will disarm

US special representative for North Korea Stephen Biegun warned on Wednesday that time is running out for the US to make a deal with North Korea, saying that the US views the window as closing even though they don’t accept Kim Jong Un’s year end deadline.

Biegun further warned that he has seen no “concrete evidence” that North Korea actually intends to disarm, and that North Korea needs to convince the US of that very soon for talks to continue.

This is a shift in US position on the matter, as President Trump and others previously suggested that they were willing to be patient on North Korea, but now Biegun is suggesting there is a tight timetable for North Korea to capitulate.

This isn’t likely to matter, as North Korea’s position has been that they will not return to the talks without the US changing their position and being willing to give something in return for disarmament progress. There is no sign that the US will consider that, instead seeming to assume it can out-wait North Korea and get them to accept the US position.

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.