The American magazine The National Interest has questioned whether North Korean leader Kim Jong Un is able to make peace with the new US administration headed by Joe Biden.

The magazine described - in an article written by Doug Bandow - who worked as a special assistant to former President Ronald Reagan - Kim was no less firm and tough than his father, Kim Jong Il, and his grandfather Kim Il Sung, but he may be considered more open than them to concluding a deal acceptable to him. United State.

The writer - who is also a researcher at the Cato Research Institute in Washington - recounted the facts and historical evidence in the political career of the current leader of North Korea, based on them in arriving at his conclusions.

He said that Kim had arrested and executed hundreds of officials who worked with him under the pretext of opposing some of his policies, most notably Jang Song-taek, a prominent leader in the government, and Kyung Hui's husband, Kim's aunt, against accusations of "treason and trying to overthrow the ruling regime."

Internal controversy

However, Kim's policies did not fail to cause internal controversy, as his announcement of his readiness to negotiate with outgoing US President Donald Trump over the nuclear program was met with opposition from within his country's security and armed forces.

His economic reforms, which were seen as undermining the policies of his father and grandfather before him, have raised concern in some corridors of the country.

Meanwhile, his failure to fulfill his promises to achieve economic growth and improve the living conditions of his people spread disappointment and resentment among the elites, according to the magazine.

Perhaps some of those elites may have blamed him for the collapse of talks with the United States in February 2019, and his suspension of internal reforms that he abandoned after the tightening of international sanctions on his country in 2015 and 2016.

This was evident in the terrible economic deterioration that North Korea experienced, according to the writer.

The article indicated that Beijing appeared to be afraid of being sidelined in any possible deal between Washington and Pyongyang, following the summit meeting that brought Trump with Kim, so that Chinese President Xi Jinping hastened to meet his North Korean counterpart.

The writer believes that China has additional influence to use it when necessary in light of the bad relations between the United States and North Korea, which may worsen under the Biden administration.

He pointed out that Kim is unique in making the decision, especially with regard to nuclear weapons, but he is facing increasing internal pressure due to strict economic policies, which "will not likely improve the people's living conditions, but will reduce the possibility of political unrest."

Failures and penalties

As a result of his failure to improve those living conditions, which he admitted when he did not control his feelings during his speech during a military parade last October in tears, and Kim seemed willing to lift economic sanctions on his country, "which will give the Biden administration the ability to influence him." In any negotiations.

And Kim's surprisingly effective performance on the diplomatic front - according to the National Interest article - is one of the factors that make his negotiating leverage possible.

And if Washington is willing to continue the negotiation process - even if it is limited to the nuclear issue - then Pyongyang may give up any anticipated provocation to Washington in order to attract the attention of the Biden administration, according to the magazine.

Despite all the ambiguities and doubts surrounding North Korea - from the impact of the Coronavirus pandemic, the state of the ruling regime, the fragility of the economy, and Kim's health condition - it has become a better-armed, more economically developed country, and stronger on the international stage since Kim came to power in it.

Moreover, it appears that Kim is willing to strike a deal with the United States, although it is not possible to know whether he is willing to make sufficient concessions on the nuclear issue in exchange for an economic outlet as long as he has longed for it.

The author of the article advises the Biden administration to contact Pyongyang and express its desire to open a dialogue with it with the aim of "concluding some small arms control agreements in order to advance the path of eventual nuclear disarmament."