President Donald Trump’s order to substantially reduce the military exercises with South Korea has raised the question of whether a new push for U.S.-North Korea talks could follow. Evan Sankey, a policy analyst at the Cato Institute, is available to help you unpack what this could mean for U.S. policy toward Pyongyang.

Sankey’s assessment:

“President Trump’s announcement that he will substantially reduce U.S.-South Korea military exercises is reminiscent of his cancellation of exercises during his rounds of negotiations with Chairman Kim in 2018–2019. Today there are no known U.S.-DPRK talks, but scaling back exercises could presage a U.S. overture. That would be welcome because U.S. policy toward the DPRK is at a dead end. There is little prospect of convincing Kim to give up his nuclear weapons, but talks could lead to caps on his missile arsenal and stockpile of fissile material. They could also lead to a declaration to end the Korean War. Any of those would serve U.S. interests and are worth a diplomatic effort.”

Sankey can speak to the precedent set by Trump’s earlier exercise cancellations during his first-term talks with Kim Jong Un, the current absence of formal U.S.-DPRK negotiations, and what realistic diplomatic goals might look like if talks resume.

To arrange an interview with Evan Sankey, please contact Madison: mmiller@​cato.​org.