A former senior US official has warned that President Donald Trump could offer North Korean leader Kim Jong-un a package that includes tacit acceptance of North Korea's nuclear weapons programme, a formal peace treaty ending the Korean War, and a permanent halt to US-South Korea military exercises — should a summit between the two leaders materialise later this year.

What the Former Official Said

Anthony Ruggiero, who served as the National Security Council (NSC) director for North Korea from 2018 to 2019 under Trump's first term, laid out the scenario in an opinion piece published by The Hill on Thursday. Ruggiero worked directly on Trump's 'maximum pressure' policy and the three summits with Kim during that period, lending his assessment considerable insider weight.

'Negotiations with Kim will likely include at least a tacit acknowledgement of North Korea's nuclear weapons program,' Ruggiero wrote. He further noted that Trump 'could offer a peace treaty formally ending the Korean War, a better political and economic relationship, and a permanent end to military exercises with South Korea' — and could also facilitate direct negotiations between the two Koreas.

The Denuclearisation Question

Concerns over a potential policy shift have been building. Trump recently revealed that Pyongyang possesses 57 'very powerful' nuclear weapons, and declined to confirm whether complete denuclearisation remains his goal in any renewed engagement with Kim. Those remarks have fuelled speculation that Washington may be pivoting toward arms control or tension reduction — objectives that fall well short of the longstanding denuclearisation target.

Apparently responding to the unease, the US State Department on Wednesday reaffirmed its commitment to the 'complete' denuclearisation of North Korea. A separate US official also stated there had been 'no change' in US policy toward Pyongyang — though critics argue such assurances ring hollow without a clear diplomatic framework.

Conditions Ruggiero Says Trump Must Demand

Ruggiero, while acknowledging the pragmatic logic of Trump's approach, stressed that any deal must include 'verifiable' limits on North Korea's long-range ballistic missile and nuclear weapons programmes. Crucially, he argued that a deal must also require North Korea to withdraw all troops and military assistance supporting Russia's war in Ukraine — a condition that significantly raises the diplomatic stakes.

The former NSC director also raised the possibility of Trump eventually travelling to North Korea or a neutral site to sign a deal — describing what would be 'another made-for-TV moment' in his presidency. On leverage, Ruggiero advised that Trump could strengthen his hand by sanctioning North Koreans operating in China and Chinese entities aiding Pyongyang's sanctions evasion.

Summit Speculation and Asia Trip

Reports, citing The Wall Street Journal, suggest Trump could seek a meeting with Kim during his next trip to Asia, likely timed around the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in Shenzhen, China, in November. Trump has publicly expressed his intention to meet Kim later this year, reviving a diplomatic channel that has been dormant since their third and final meeting at the inter-Korean border village of Panmunjom in June 2019. The two leaders previously met in Singapore in June 2018 and in Hanoi in February 2019.

Whether Trump's second-term outreach produces a substantive agreement — or another high-profile meeting without binding commitments — will depend heavily on how far each side is willing to move from its stated positions.