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’s overtures and what discussions are taking place within the regime.
According to a source inside North Korea who spoke to Daily NK recently, high-ranking officials are encouraged by Trump’s latest comments about dialogue. However, they largely view the U.S. as still being in an exploratory phase.
Pyongyang has been emphasizing that decisions on critical issues—particularly North Korea’s nuclear program—must 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’s constitution, any dialogue based on complete denuclearization would be a non-starter.
Instead, the goal would be to leverage North Korea’s nuclear capabilities to create more favorable conditions, including potential sanctions relief.
“The foreign ministry bureau handling U.S. strategy is currently developing a concrete contingency plan,” the source revealed.
This plan focuses on reframing negotiations around freezing nuclear weapon production and reducing risks, rather than pursuing complete denuclearization, according to the source.
Strategy shifts toward incremental progress
“They’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’re discussing pushing for gradual sanctions relief and economic incentives,” the source explained.
Rather than being merely tactical, North Korea’s approach appears designed to gain de facto recognition as a nuclear weapon state from the international community. The regime’s strategy involves making incremental progress toward sanctions relief and U.S. security guarantees through limited concessions—such as freezing nuclear production and implementing risk reduction measures—while keeping complete denuclearization off the negotiating table.
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.
“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,” the source said.
Many within the regime want dialogue to secure sanctions relief on petroleum and minerals, authorization for limited financial transactions, and a non-aggression pact—essentially a mutual commitment to prevent military confrontations.
Looking ahead, North Korea may also be considering ways to reduce its reliance on China and Russia by strengthening ties with the U.S.
However, the regime characterizes this as “rebalancing” rather than “substitution,” the source noted, reflecting caution about creating tensions with China and Russia.
“The government views dialogue with the U.S. as an opportunity but won’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,” the source explained.
“The most important priorities for us are getting sanctions lifted and securing a security guarantee. Ultimately, whether a meeting happens depends on Trump’s decisions and whether the U.S. has concrete incentives to offer,” the source added.
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.
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.
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.
