By shunning the South, North Korea is shooting itself in the foot | NK News
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September 19, 2026Sep 19, 2026

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By shunning the South, North Korea is shooting itself in the foot

History has shown that inter-Korean engagement puts pressure on Washington to engage with Pyongyang as well

Views expressed in Opinion articles are exclusively the authors’ own and do not represent the views of NK News. 

North Korea has a long history of failure when it comes to achieving one of its key foreign policy priorities: the normalization of bilateral diplomatic relations with the United States.

This goal dates back to at least 1974, when the Supreme People’s Assembly requested this in a letter sent to the U.S. Congress. Forty years later, the United States has diplomatic relations with former communist foes China, Cuba, and Vietnam – but not with North Korea.

There are many reasons behind