Flashpoints | Diplomacy | East Asia

After the Midterms, Seoul and Washington Need a North Korea Policy That Outlasts Elections

A bipartisan line toward Pyongyang matters more than matching parties in Seoul and Washington.

South Korean President Lee Jae-myung meets with U.S. President Donald Trump on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly in New York, Sep. 22, 2026.

Democrats in the United States won control of both the Senate and the House of Representatives in the November 3 midterm elections. U.S. President Donald Trump said on election night that he would accept the results. The outcome deepens the lame-duck status of the president, who is barred from seeking a third term. The question for Seoul and Washington is whether the new balance of power in the U.S. Congress will change the alliance and U.S. policy toward North Korea.

On November 5, South Korea’s senior presidential spokesperson Kang Yu-jung said the alliance had developed over more than 70 years with bipartisan support from the United States. She added that no single election result would affect the alliance. The statement points to alliance stability that does not depend on which party controls Washington.

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Democrats in the United States won control of both the Senate and the House of Representatives in........

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