News analysis

Pyongyang gains upper hand over Washington

Analysts say Trump needs a N. Korea legacy for re-election, but Kim is setting the rules

North Korea's top nuclear negotiator Kim Myong Gil (centre) reading a statement in front of the country's embassy in Stockholm after a meeting with US officials for formal working-level nuclear talks.
North Korea's top nuclear negotiator Kim Myong Gil (centre) reading a statement in front of the country's embassy in Stockholm after a meeting with US officials for formal working-level nuclear talks. PHOTO: DPA
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Unfortunately for advocates of nuclear non-proliferation, North Korea is showing how it has the upper hand in negotiating with the United States.

North Korea and the US have given strikingly different interpretations of the breakdown in working-level denuclearisation talks last week in Stockholm.

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A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Straits Times on October 08, 2019, with the headline Pyongyang gains upper hand over Washington. Subscribe