North Korea Sidelined at Trump-Xi Summit as Trade and Taiwan Take Precedence

Harry Kazianis, director of the Rogue States Project, told a broadcaster that North Korea likely received only a passing reference in the bilateral meeting, noting that the matter probably fell outside the top ten items on the agenda given that trade, Taiwan, and the South China Sea each commanded greater attention, and that when viewed against the broader range of issues both countries — and China especially — must navigate, North Korea generally sits lower on the list of priorities; on a separate but related note, President Trump has on multiple occasions since returning to office expressed an interest in reopening dialogue with Kim Jong Un, building on three earlier rounds of negotiations in which the two sides were unable to agree on a framework connecting denuclearisation to the removal of sanctions. A government official, speaking anonymously to a news outlet, indicated that Trump would be receptive to a meeting with Kim Jong Un, noting that he had convened three summits with the North Korean leader during his first term in office, which he characterised as having contributed to stability on the Korean Peninsula. According to Kazianis, North Korea was receiving billions of dollars from Russia in exchange for supplying weapons to the conflict in Ukraine, and had little motivation to engage with Washington without tangible sanctions relief offered against minimal concessions; any prospective meeting with Kim would also need to align with Trump's own interests, as the domestic and international pressures he faced made it unlikely he would pursue an engagement that invited further criticism or weakened his standing abroad. A one-on-one meeting between Trump and Kim Jong Un remained under consideration, though an analyst observed that Beijing's participation was viewed as unlikely, and that any diplomatic overtures from Trump toward the North Korean leader would probably proceed without active support from China; at the same time, human rights organisations focused on North Korea gathered outside Chinese embassies in several countries to demand an end to the forced repatriation of North Korean defectors. A 22 September gathering in Washington, organised by the North Korea Freedom Coalition and linked to simultaneous events across 26 cities in 20 countries, served as the backdrop for coalition chairperson Suzanne Scholte's televised remarks urging Trump to place the repatriation policy on the agenda at the forthcoming summit, with the coalition characterising the practice as contrary to human rights standards and international law. Individuals who cross into Chinese territory without official documentation are classified by authorities as economic migrants and, if apprehended, are returned to their countries of origin, where a number are reported to face adverse outcomes.

North Korea Sidelined at Trump-Xi Summit as Trade and Taiwan Take Precedence

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North Korea Sidelined at Trump-Xi Summit as Trade and Taiwan Take Precedence

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