All Quiet on the North Korean Front?
It would be a mistake to interpret a lack of missile tests as a willingness to engage in denuclearization talks.
Joseph Yun, the U.S. special envoy for North Korea policy, on October 30 that 60 days without North Korean missile tests would signal to the United States that North Korea is ready to take diplomacy seriously. It’s now been nearly 70 days without a missile test (the last one, as of this writing, was on September 15), and even Secretary of Defense James Mattis he’s open to talks. So crisis averted, right? Pro-Trump hawks might say the deliberately heightened tensions from the U.S. policy of “maximum pressure” is bearing fruit. Pro-engagement doves might say Pyongyang’s quiet is a sign of its flexibility, and urge the United States to reciprocate. Both perspectives
