The Obama Administration's Reason for Rejecting Talks

The Obama administration's stated reason for rejecting talks was the same given by the Bush administration. In 2017, South Korea elected a new president, Moon Jai-in, who revived the Sunshine Policy in a big way. The two nations' athletes marched together at the Seoul Olympics in February 2018. And then, after an invitation from Kim Jong-un to visit the North, the two leaders met for the first time in April 2018.