By The South Asia Times

SEOUL - US President Donald Trump could consider a more pragmatic approach toward North Korea, potentially including tacit acceptance of its nuclear weapons program, a peace treaty and an end to joint military exercises with South Korea if he holds a summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, a former US official has said.

Anthony Ruggiero, who served as the National Security Council’s director for North Korea during Trump’s first administration, made the assessment in an opinion article published by The Hill on Thursday, according to South Korea’s Yonhap News Agency.

The comments come as Trump has expressed an interest in renewing his personal diplomacy with Kim, raising speculation that the two leaders could meet later this year.

There has been particular speculation that Trump could seek talks with Kim during a planned trip to Asia, potentially in connection with the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in Shenzhen, China, in November, Yonhap reported.

Ruggiero said negotiations with Kim could include at least a “tacit acknowledgement” of North Korea’s nuclear weapons program.

He suggested that Washington could potentially offer several major concessions in return for limits on Pyongyang’s nuclear and missile capabilities.

These could include a formal peace treaty ending the Korean War, improved political and economic relations and a permanent halt to US-South Korean military exercises, he said.

Ruggiero also suggested that Washington could help facilitate future negotiations between North and South Korea.

The possibility of such an approach has raised concerns among some observers that the Trump administration could shift away from its longstanding goal of complete denuclearization and instead pursue arms control, risk reduction or tension management with Pyongyang.

Those concerns intensified after Trump recently said North Korea possesses 57 “very powerful” nuclear weapons and declined to directly answer whether denuclearization remains his objective in any future engagement with Kim.

The US State Department sought to address those concerns on Wednesday by reaffirming Washington’s commitment to the complete denuclearization of North Korea. A U.S. official separately said there had been “no change” in U.S. policy toward Pyongyang.

Ruggiero nevertheless argued that any agreement with North Korea should contain verifiable limits on its nuclear weapons and long-range ballistic missile programs.

He also said Pyongyang should withdraw its troops and military assistance from Russia’s war in Ukraine as part of any potential agreement.

The former US official proposed that Trump could eventually travel to North Korea or meet Kim at a neutral location to sign a possible agreement, describing such an event as another potentially high-profile moment for the U.S. president.

“Trump will be criticized for this approach,” Ruggiero wrote, according to Yonhap, but argued that the president should pursue an achievable objective rather than repeat previous negotiating strategies.

Ruggiero also recommended that Washington rebuild pressure on Pyongyang by imposing sanctions on North Koreans operating in China and on Chinese companies and individuals accused of helping North Korea evade international sanctions.

Trump and Kim have a history of unprecedented personal diplomacy. The two leaders held three face-to-face meetings during Trump's first presidency — in Singapore in June 2018, Hanoi in February 2019 and at Panmunjom on the inter-Korean border in June 2019.

The Hanoi summit ended without an agreement after the two sides failed to bridge differences over sanctions relief and North Korea’s nuclear activities.

Ruggiero served as the NSC’s North Korea director from 2018 to 2019, during the period of Trump's “maximum pressure” campaign and his summits with Kim.

Any renewed Trump-Kim engagement would come against a significantly changed security environment on the Korean Peninsula, with North Korea continuing to expand its nuclear and missile capabilities and strengthening strategic ties with Russia.

For South Korea and its allies, the central challenge would be balancing efforts to reduce tensions with the need to prevent North Korea from further expanding its nuclear arsenal.

For Washington, meanwhile, any move toward arms control rather than complete denuclearization could represent a major shift in its longstanding policy toward Pyongyang — even if the administration continues to publicly maintain that denuclearization remains its ultimate goal.