John Delury: How Democrats could scuttle a deal on North Korea | NK News
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September 22, 2026Sep 22, 2026

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John Delury: How Democrats could scuttle a deal on North Korea

Yonsei Professor talks engagement, Park Geun-hye, and what Congress gets wrong about Pyongyang

While you’d be forgiven for thinking deals and freezes between the U.S. and North Korea were more likely to be supported by liberals in Washington, John Delury, a professor at Yonsei University, says the emerging domestic situation around President Trump could lead to the opposite outcome: a rejection of any potential deal by Democrats hoping to damage the administration.

In an extended interview at the 12th Jeju Forum for Peace and Prosperity, Delury said the default reliance on sanctions and pressure on North Korea by Congress might see Democrats oppose a potentially productive agreement by Trump, his recently elected South Korean counterpart Moon