S. Korea, US must address drill cuts for 'productive' engagement with Kim: expert
U.S. President Donald Trump meets with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un at the demilitarized zone separating the two Koreas, in Panmunjom, South Korea, Jun. 30, 2019. Reuters-Yohap
WASHINGTON — An expert on Friday called on South Korea and the United States to address the "political fallout" of U.S. President Donald Trump's decision to scale back their military exercises, noting that the "unnecessary crisis" between the allies has created a roadblock to a coordinated approach toward Pyongyang.
Ankit Panda, a senior fellow in the nuclear policy program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, made the case in an article released by the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, a nonprofit research group, noting that Trump should focus on "coexistence" with North Korea rather than denuclearization should diplomacy with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un materialize.
"The unnecessary crisis with South Korea caused by the president's instincts to both seek engagement with Kim without understanding North Korea's position — and to punish Seoul for its perceived distance on U.S. policy toward Iran — has created a roadblock to a coordinated approach between the two allies," he said.
"If there is to be any productive engagement with Kim, it will require Washington and Seoul to immediately address the political fallout of the president's impulsive decision to scale back exercises," he added.
He highlighted that given South Korean President Lee Jae Myung's own interest in engaging Pyongyang, Trump's bid to meet Kim may have received greater support had the crisis not affected the alliance.
In a social media post on Sunday, Trump revealed that he had ordered the Pentagon to "substantially reduce" South Korea-U.S. military drills, citing his "very good" relationship with Kim while expressing frustration with South Korea, which he said had rejected his request for assistance in the U.S. war against Iran.
Trump's decision to scale back allied drills was seen as a conciliatory gesture toward Pyongyang that has long decried them as rehearsals for war. But the move has raised concerns that it could undermine efforts to sharpen deterrence against growing North Korean threats.
Panda underscored the need for Trump to focus on "coexistence" with North Korea rather than denuclearization, noting that the North Korean leader has categorically ruled it out since 2022 though he previously maintained the possibility of conditional denuclearization.
In particular, he pointed out that amid multiple U.S. military campaigns to remove leaders in Iran and Venezuela in the past year, the North Korean leader's interest in the survival of his regime is "more, not less, tied to his growing nuclear capabilities."
"The overarching goal of such engagement should be to work toward stability and to recognize that the United States will have to coexist with a nuclear-armed North Korea for some time," he said.
"In private, Washington and its allies can still maintain their long-term objective of denuclearizing North Korea. But they will need to recognize that this would require a fundamental transformation of the Northeast Asian security environment."
His remarks came amid speculation that Trump could pivot toward short-term goals short of North Korea's denuclearization, such as arms control, tension reduction and risk management, given that Pyongyang's full nuclear disarmament remains elusive.
Trump had three in-person meetings with Kim during his first term: the first meeting in Singapore in June 2018, the second in Hanoi in February 2019 and the last at the inter-Korean border village of Panmunjom in June 2019.