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"Joel S. Wit",
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Rethinking America’s North Korea Strategy
Wed, October 22nd, 2025
Live Online
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As President Donald Trump prepares for his upcoming trip to South Korea to attend the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit, a meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un may be on the agenda. South Korean President Lee Jae Myung first suggested the meeting during his recent trip to Washington. Trump and Kim seem open to the possibility, with one major caveat: Kim has stated publicly that discussions of denuclearization are off the table. Whether or not that meeting occurs, North Korea’s growing nuclear arsenal and deepening relationships with Russia and China are a persistent challenge for Washington.
How should the second Trump administration alter, or maintain, its approach to North Korea? Is Washington reading Kim and the internal politics of Pyongyang correctly? And what role should China and South Korea play in U.S. strategy?
Join Aaron David Miller as he engages Jean H. Lee, the presidential chair of the East-West Center, and Joel S. Wit, a distinguished fellow in Asian and Security Studies at the Stimson Center, on these and other issues.
Carnegie does not take institutional positions on public policy issues; the views represented herein are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of Carnegie, its staff, or its trustees.
Event Speakers
Aaron David Miller
Senior Fellow, American Statecraft Program
Aaron David Miller is a senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, focusing on U.S. foreign policy.
Joel S. Wit
Distinguished Fellow in Asian and Security Studies, Stimson Center
Joel S. Wit is a distinguished fellow in Asian and security studies at the Stimson Center. Wit is an internationally recognized expert on Northeast Asia security issues. As a U.S. State Department official, he helped negotiate the 1994 US-DPRK Agreed Framework and was subsequently in charge of its implementation until he left government in 2002, holding countless talks with North Korean officials, including the military and nuclear establishments. Joel is the author of the forthcoming book, Fallout: The Inside Story of America's Failure to Disarm North Korea, a chronicle of how six American presidents have approached the problem of North Korea.
Jean H. Lee
Presidential Chair, East-West Center
Jean H. Lee is the East-West Center’s inaugural presidential chair. Jean is a policy analyst and veteran foreign correspondent who reported from across Asia, the Pacific, Africa, Europe and North America before transitioning to research and policy analysis.