Editor’s note: The following article is an opinion piece by Ki-ho Han, a research professor at the Ajou Institute of Unification Studies. Views expressed in opinion articles are exclusively the author’s own and do not represent those of NK News.

There is no greater folly than repeating the same mistakes and expecting a different outcome, and for over three decades, Washington’s policy toward North Korea has fallen squarely into a trap. 

Grounded in the rigid demand for North Korea’s complete, verifiable, and irreversible denuclearization (CVID), the United States has relied on economic sanctions and diplomatic isolation against the regime. 

The