After North Korea and the U.S. failed to reach an agreement during their working-level talks in Stockholm over the weekend,... American media outlets have been analyzing the possible reasons behind their collapse.
Kan Hyeong-woo has more.
U.S. media outlets were quick to offer their take on lack of results from the working-level talks in Sweden.
The Washington Post raised the possibility of the North Korean side coming to the negotiating table with higher expectations... with the U.S. appearing to send signals of a changed stance.
For one, President Trump dismissed John Bolton, his former U.S. National Security Adviser, who was well known for his hawkish style toward the North.
On top of that, Trump had mentioned a "new method" for the denuclearization talks with Pyeongyang.
With President Trump likely to face a bumpy election campaign in 2020,... the Chief Executive of the Korea Risk Group, Chad O’Carr, also said it appears the North may be hoping that the combined effect of the ticking clock and American fears of long-range missile and nuclear tests in the year ahead will stimulate a significant shift in U.S. strategy at the last moment.
However, VOA looked at the breakdown as if it was just a regular tactic for North Korea.
Mintaro Oba, a former U.S. diplomat focused on Korea, was quoted as saying "the North Koreans have a long history of being tough negotiators willing to cancel or withdraw as a tactic."
He added this isn't necessarily the end of working-level talks... saying it’s far more likely North Korean officials conceived the breakdown ahead of the meeting... so it was not a spontaneous decision .
The Wall Street Journal voiced concerns over the U.S. looking too eager to get a deal done.
Quoting a former CIA analyst and North Korea expert at policy think tank, the Rand Corporation, Soo Kim,... the report said Washington risks looking too overzealous... given the State Department's statement about leaving the door open for future talks.
The report also included analysis from Professor Lee Sung-yoon, a Korea expert at Tufts University, who said North Koreans take their time and keep raising the stakes adding that Pyeongyang has "the upper hand at this time."
Kan Hyeong-woo, Arirang News.