By Kim Bo-eun
The U.S. midterm elections today (local time) will likely not affect Washington's policy toward Pyongyang, analysts said Monday.
Votes will be cast for 35 senators and all 435 members of the House of Representatives, 36 governors and dozens of local legislative officials.
Republicans are forecast to retain control of the Senate, while Democrats are expected to seize control of the House of Representatives, according to recent polls.
“It appears a major loss for U.S. President Donald Trump will be unlikely. Even if the Democrats win a majority in the House of Representatives, it will likely be by a small difference,” Shin Beom-chul, a senior fellow at the Asan Institute for Policy Studies said.
“This would signal that there will be no change in Trump's North Korea policy in that the U.S. will continue to keep pressure on North Korea through sanctions,” he said.
While the U.S. policy of engaging with the North through dialogue to achieve denuclearization will likely remain unchanged, if the Democrats do end up controlling the House, this could slow the process down to some extent, according to analysts.
“If the Democrats take the House, they may put the brakes on Trump's policies toward the North, so that there is more of a cautious approach,” Park Won-gon, a professor at Handong Global University said.
“Trump faced criticism for the statement released with the North Korean leader following their summit in June, as having no substance. The Democrats will likely attempt to hold Trump in check,” he said.
Meanwhile, Park pointed out that differences with the U.S. president appear more evident in the Trump administration.
A survey from the Washington-based Pew Research Center conducted in September showed that both Republicans and Democrats have “very cold feelings toward North Korea.”
Meanwhile, the U.S. Department of State confirmed a high-level meeting will take place between U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and his counterpart Kim Yong-chol in New York, Thursday (local time).
The meeting is expected to address inspections of North Korea's Punggye-ri and Tonchangri nuclear and missile testing sites, as well as plans for a second summit between Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un.
Discussions may also take place on permanently shutting down North Korea's Yongbyon nuclear facility and corresponding measures that the U.S. could offer.
Park said recent developments of the U.S. re-imposing sanctions on Iran could affect its talks with North Korea.
“It will likely continue to take a strong stance on North Korea, especially with regards to inspections,” he said.