Seoul fears US-North Korea talks will sideline South Korea — SkimNews
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- North Korea fired around 10 short-range ballistic missiles toward the Sea of Japan on October 30, 2026, just before German Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s visit to Seoul, escalating regional tensions.
- North Korea planted a mine on the southern side of the inter-Korean border last month, which exploded and injured three South Korean soldiers; Pyongyang denied responsibility and called it a false-flag operation.
- U.S. President Donald Trump has indicated he would like to resume talks with Kim Jong Un, with speculation pointing to a potential meeting on November 18 in Shenzhen during the APEC summit.
- South Korea's National Intelligence Service informed lawmakers that Kim Jong Un discussed the possibility of meeting Trump during a recent meeting with senior Chinese officials in Dandong.
- Kim Sang-woo, former politician and board member of the Kim Dae-jung Peace Foundation, stated that trust between Washington and Seoul is broken, citing lost access for South Korean diplomats to key White House decision-makers.
- Lim Eun-jung, professor of international studies at Kongju National University, warned that a U.S.-North Korea deal allowing Pyongyang to keep short-range nuclear weapons would undermine U.S. extended deterrence and fuel domestic support for a South Korean nuclear deterrent.
Why it matters: South Korea faces a strategic dilemma as U.S. overtures to North Korea advance without consultation, risking the legitimacy of Pyongyang’s nuclear program and weakening the credibility of American security guarantees, which could trigger a regional arms race with Seoul reconsidering its own nuclear options.
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