In Jan. 2020, North Korea appointed Ri Son Gwon as the new head of its foreign ministry just weeks after Kim Jong Un signaled a major policy change towards the United States.

But despite Ri’s reputation as a hardliner, his first nine months in office are not all that different from his predecessor. North Korea is continuing its “wait and see” approach with the U.S. — adopted since the Hanoi Summit in Feb. 2019 — and it’s also stonewalling South Korea because they’re no help in getting sanctions relief.

Nevertheless, all of this could change