US expert: Trump-Kim meeting dangerous; North Korea has changed

A US expert on North Korea has cautioned against the potential dangers of a meeting between former President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, emphasizing that the current reality of North Korea is vastly different from when they previously met.

Joel Wit, a special researcher at the Stimson Center and former negotiator in the US-North Korea talks, stated at the 2026 International Korean Peninsula Forum that bringing Trump and Kim together again would be "very dangerous." He believes Kim Jong Un would likely agree to terms unfavorable to the US and push a new agenda concerning North Korea's nuclear capabilities and its deepening ties with Russia.

Wit expressed skepticism about North Korea's current willingness to engage in serious dialogue, noting a lack of the sincerity seen in past negotiations. He argued that the "last 30 years of efforts to seek change through dialogue are over" and that a realistic approach requires understanding how much North Korea has changed. He also dismissed the current administration's phased denuclearization plan as unoriginal, unless the ultimate goal of denuclearization is abandoned.

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Bringing President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un together would be very dangerous. Kim Jong Un is very likely to agree to things we do not want.

Comparing the first Trump administration's approach to the current one, Wit highlighted the significant differences in the geopolitical landscape and the lack of experienced negotiators like Mike Pompeo and Stephen Biegart. He described Trump's foreign policy as "out of control" and cited the US-Israel-Iran conflict as a recent failure. Despite his pessimistic outlook, Wit described his view as "realism, not skepticism."

However, Wit proposed an alternative path: a joint declaration among the US, China, Russia, and South Korea to prevent nuclear war, similar to a 1973 agreement between the US and the Soviet Union. He suggested that North Korea might be amenable to such a declaration, focusing on a shared goal of avoiding nuclear conflict.

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The last 30 years of efforts to seek change through dialogue are over. To develop relations with North Korea from a realistic perspective, we must understand not only history but also how different North Korea is today from the past.