The U.S.’ former special representative for North Korea policy, Joseph Yun, says he believes denuclearization must come first on the agenda of the U.S.-North Korea summit. 

Yun made the remark during a debate session organized by the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington on Monday. 

He said it would be a real mistake to have a peace treaty come first, then denuclearization because it would be an open admission that North Korea is being acknowledged as a nuclear weapon state. 

Yun, who also served as a deputy assistant secretary, added that it would take a long time to replace the Korean War armistice with a peace treaty, saying that the effort is going to be complicated.

He also assessed that the conditions to denuclearize the Korean Peninsula have become more difficult than 25 years ago given the North’s advancement in its nuclear and missile technology. 

He said it must be admitted that the “price has gone up” compared to 25 years ago and related parties are not going to be able to buy Pyongyang off at the price they did at the six-party talks or at agreed frameworks.

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