{"id":64805,"date":"2025-09-11T08:35:24","date_gmt":"2025-09-10T23:35:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/?p=64805"},"modified":"2026-04-05T16:10:41","modified_gmt":"2026-04-05T07:10:41","slug":"pyongyang-prepares-contingency-plans-for-potential-trump-negotiations","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/pyongyang-prepares-contingency-plans-for-potential-trump-negotiations\/","title":{"rendered":"Pyongyang prepares contingency plans for potential Trump negotiations"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"flex-1 flex flex-col gap-3 px-4 max-w-3xl mx-auto w-full pt-1\">\n<div data-test-render-count=\"1\">\n<div>\n<div class=\"group relative -tracking-[0.015em] pb-3\" data-is-streaming=\"false\">\n<div class=\"font-claude-response relative leading-[1.65rem] [&amp;_pre&gt;div]:bg-bg-000\/50 [&amp;_pre&gt;div]:border-0.5 [&amp;_pre&gt;div]:border-border-400 [&amp;_.ignore-pre-bg&gt;div]:bg-transparent [&amp;_.standard-markdown_:is(p,blockquote,h1,h2,h3,h4,h5,h6)]:pl-2 [&amp;_.standard-markdown_:is(p,blockquote,ul,ol,h1,h2,h3,h4,h5,h6)]:pr-8 [&amp;_.progressive-markdown_:is(p,blockquote,h1,h2,h3,h4,h5,h6)]:pl-2 [&amp;_.progressive-markdown_:is(p,blockquote,ul,ol,h1,h2,h3,h4,h5,h6)]:pr-8\">\n<div>\n<div class=\"grid-cols-1 grid gap-2.5 [&amp;_&gt;_*]:min-w-0 standard-markdown\">\n<p class=\"whitespace-normal break-words\">Following his recent summit with South Korea, U.S. President Donald Trump expressed interest in meeting North Korean leader Kim Jong Un before the end of the year. This has sparked questions about how Pyongyang is responding to Trump&#8217;s overtures and what discussions are taking place within the regime.<\/p>\n<p class=\"whitespace-normal break-words\">According to a source inside North Korea who spoke to Daily NK recently, high-ranking officials are encouraged by Trump&#8217;s latest comments about dialogue. However, they largely view the U.S. as still being in an exploratory phase.<\/p>\n<p class=\"whitespace-normal break-words\">Pyongyang has been emphasizing that decisions on critical issues\u2014particularly North Korea&#8217;s nuclear program\u2014must be made by North Koreans themselves, not by outside parties. Party officials have been told in briefings that since the nuclear program is now formally enshrined in North Korea&#8217;s constitution, any dialogue based on complete denuclearization would be a non-starter.<\/p>\n<p class=\"whitespace-normal break-words\">Instead, the goal would be to leverage North Korea&#8217;s nuclear capabilities to create more favorable conditions, including potential sanctions relief.<\/p>\n<p class=\"whitespace-normal break-words\">&#8220;The foreign ministry bureau handling U.S. strategy is currently developing a concrete contingency plan,&#8221; the source revealed.<\/p>\n<p class=\"whitespace-normal break-words\">This plan focuses on reframing negotiations around freezing nuclear weapon production and reducing risks, rather than pursuing complete denuclearization, according to the source.<\/p>\n<h4 class=\"whitespace-normal break-words\"><strong>Strategy shifts toward incremental progress<\/strong><\/h4>\n<p class=\"whitespace-normal break-words\">&#8220;They&#8217;re drafting scenarios for potentially resuming negotiations. Basically, officials are exploring the possibility of freezing fissile material production and imposing restrictions on certain facilities, though any additional concessions would likely be limited to the Yongbyon complex. In terms of compensation, they&#8217;re discussing pushing for gradual sanctions relief and economic incentives,&#8221; the source explained.<\/p>\n<p class=\"whitespace-normal break-words\">Rather than being merely tactical, North Korea&#8217;s approach appears designed to gain de facto recognition as a nuclear weapon state from the international community. The regime&#8217;s strategy involves making incremental progress toward sanctions relief and U.S. security guarantees through limited concessions\u2014such as freezing nuclear production and implementing risk reduction measures\u2014while keeping complete denuclearization off the negotiating table.<\/p>\n<p class=\"whitespace-normal break-words\">The North Korean leadership learned valuable lessons from the failed Trump negotiations during the 2019 Hanoi summit. Instead of attempting to resolve everything through a comprehensive deal, North Korea now favors gradual progress through a series of smaller agreements.<\/p>\n<p class=\"whitespace-normal break-words\">&#8220;Rather than going all-in, the regime seems more interested in pursuing minor agreements in concrete areas like energy, public health, and agriculture, then using those agreements as stepping stones toward sanctions relief,&#8221; the source said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"whitespace-normal break-words\">Many within the regime want dialogue to secure sanctions relief on petroleum and minerals, authorization for limited financial transactions, and a non-aggression pact\u2014essentially a mutual commitment to prevent military confrontations.<\/p>\n<p class=\"whitespace-normal break-words\">Looking ahead, North Korea may also be considering ways to reduce its reliance on China and Russia by strengthening ties with the U.S.<\/p>\n<p class=\"whitespace-normal break-words\">However, the regime characterizes this as &#8220;rebalancing&#8221; rather than &#8220;substitution,&#8221; the source noted, reflecting caution about creating tensions with China and Russia.<\/p>\n<p class=\"whitespace-normal break-words\">&#8220;The government views dialogue with the U.S. as an opportunity but won&#8217;t rush into it. It has a clear strategy of making incremental progress through minor agreements while gaining de facto recognition as a nuclear weapon state and rejecting any preconditions about denuclearization,&#8221; the source explained.<\/p>\n<p class=\"whitespace-normal break-words\">&#8220;The most important priorities for us are getting sanctions lifted and securing a security guarantee. Ultimately, whether a meeting happens depends on Trump&#8217;s decisions and whether the U.S. has concrete incentives to offer,&#8221; the source added.<\/p>\n<p class=\"whitespace-normal break-words\">The primary channels North Korea is considering for potential U.S. contact include its United Nations delegation in New York and third countries such as Sweden.<\/p>\n<p class=\"whitespace-normal break-words\">While contact could also occur at the truce village of Panmunjom in the Korean Demilitarized Zone, North Korea has set that option aside due to the current uncertainty in inter-Korean relations.<\/p>\n<p class=\"whitespace-normal break-words\">If both sides do agree to meet, North Korea would likely prefer the meeting to take place on neutral territory, such as Singapore or Geneva, according to the source.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"absolute bottom-0 right-2 pointer-events-none\">\n<div class=\"rounded-lg transition min-w-max pointer-events-auto translate-x-2 translate-y-full pt-2\">\n<div class=\"text-text-300 flex items-stretch justify-between\">\n<div class=\"w-fit\" data-state=\"closed\">\n<div class=\"relative\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"ml-1 mt-0.5 flex items-center transition-transform duration-300 ease-out\">\n<div class=\"text-text-500 px-2 mt-6 flex-1 text-right text-[0.65rem] leading-[0.85rem] tracking-tighter sm:text-[0.75rem]\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/20250908-6\/\">Read in Korean<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Following his recent summit with South Korea, U.S. President Donald Trump expressed interest in meeting North Korean leader Kim Jong Un before the end of the year. This has sparked questions about how Pyongyang is responding to Trump&#8217;s overtures and what discussions are taking place within the regime. According to a source inside North Korea [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":126,"featured_media":42011,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[67],"tags":[222,759,823,1017,1270,1367,3238,96,181],"class_list":["post-64805","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-news","tag-border","tag-china","tag-united-nations","tag-russia","tag-trump","tag-nuclear-weapons","tag-north-korea-foreign-policy","tag-denuclearization","tag-sanctions"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v27.7 (Yoast SEO v28.8) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Pyongyang prepares contingency plans for potential Trump negotiations - North Korea News \u2014 Daily NK | Latest DPRK Updates 2026<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/pyongyang-prepares-contingency-plans-for-potential-trump-negotiations\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Pyongyang prepares contingency plans for potential Trump negotiations\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Following his recent summit with South Korea, U.S. President Donald Trump expressed interest in meeting North Korean leader Kim Jong Un before the end of the year. 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According to a source inside North Korea [&hellip;]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/pyongyang-prepares-contingency-plans-for-potential-trump-negotiations\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"North Korea News \u2014 Daily NK | Latest DPRK Updates 2026\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-09-10T23:35:24+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-04-05T07:10:41+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2019\/09\/\uae40\uc815\uc740_\ud2b8\ub7fc\ud504_8.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1200\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"800\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Lee Sang-yong\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Lee Sang-yong\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.dailynk.com\\\/english\\\/pyongyang-prepares-contingency-plans-for-potential-trump-negotiations\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.dailynk.com\\\/english\\\/pyongyang-prepares-contingency-plans-for-potential-trump-negotiations\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Lee Sang-yong\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.dailynk.com\\\/english\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/af77e9df0c71b46d0e8583adf9222a8f\"},\"headline\":\"Pyongyang prepares contingency plans for potential Trump negotiations\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-09-10T23:35:24+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-04-05T07:10:41+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.dailynk.com\\\/english\\\/pyongyang-prepares-contingency-plans-for-potential-trump-negotiations\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":662,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.dailynk.com\\\/english\\\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.dailynk.com\\\/english\\\/pyongyang-prepares-contingency-plans-for-potential-trump-negotiations\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.dailynk.com\\\/english\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/2\\\/2019\\\/09\\\/\uae40\uc815\uc740_\ud2b8\ub7fc\ud504_8.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"border\",\"china\",\"united nations\",\"russia\",\"trump\",\"nuclear weapons\",\"north korea foreign policy\",\"denuclearization\",\"sanctions\"],\"articleSection\":[\"News\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.dailynk.com\\\/english\\\/pyongyang-prepares-contingency-plans-for-potential-trump-negotiations\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.dailynk.com\\\/english\\\/pyongyang-prepares-contingency-plans-for-potential-trump-negotiations\\\/\",\"name\":\"Pyongyang prepares contingency plans for potential Trump negotiations - North Korea News \u2014 Daily NK | Latest DPRK Updates 2026\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.dailynk.com\\\/english\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.dailynk.com\\\/english\\\/pyongyang-prepares-contingency-plans-for-potential-trump-negotiations\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.dailynk.com\\\/english\\\/pyongyang-prepares-contingency-plans-for-potential-trump-negotiations\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.dailynk.com\\\/english\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/2\\\/2019\\\/09\\\/\uae40\uc815\uc740_\ud2b8\ub7fc\ud504_8.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-09-10T23:35:24+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-04-05T07:10:41+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.dailynk.com\\\/english\\\/pyongyang-prepares-contingency-plans-for-potential-trump-negotiations\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.dailynk.com\\\/english\\\/pyongyang-prepares-contingency-plans-for-potential-trump-negotiations\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.dailynk.com\\\/english\\\/pyongyang-prepares-contingency-plans-for-potential-trump-negotiations\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.dailynk.com\\\/english\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/2\\\/2019\\\/09\\\/\uae40\uc815\uc740_\ud2b8\ub7fc\ud504_8.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.dailynk.com\\\/english\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/2\\\/2019\\\/09\\\/\uae40\uc815\uc740_\ud2b8\ub7fc\ud504_8.jpg\",\"width\":1200,\"height\":800,\"caption\":\"North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and US President Donald Trump in Panmunjom on June 30, 2019. 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