The following article is an opinion piece by Ambassador Robert R. King, who served as special envoy for North Korean human rights from Nov. 2009 to Jan. 2017. Views expressed in opinion articles are exclusively the author’s own and do not represent those of NK News.

Almost everyone in Washington — except the current occupant of the Oval Office — has accepted the fact that Joseph R. Biden will be sworn in as president of the United States at noon on Jan. 20, 2021. Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris are moving ahead with the transition for assuming office, despite