The conditions for renewed U.S.-DPRK negotiations do not currently exist but could materialize quickly and within a year, according to Alex Wong, the former principal deputy national security adviser during President Donald Trump’s second administration.

Speaking at a discussion panel at the Jeju Peace Forum on South Korea’s southern Jeju Island on Friday, Wong said North Korea currently sees its strategic position as favorable and feels no pressure to negotiate with its lifelong adversary.

North Korea has come out of its extreme pandemic isolation with a dangerous lesson learned and has drawn economic and technological support from Russia, he said.