This file photo provided by Yonhap News shows Victor Cha, Senior Adviser and Korea Chair at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, speaking at a forum.
Experts say South Korean President Moon Jae-in's latest initiative to establish regional cooperation to battle the COVID-19 pandemic may provide a chance to bring North Korean into the international community.
Moon proposed launching a "Northeast Asia Cooperation Initiative" for infectious disease control and public health, involving China, Japan, Mongolia and the two Koreas, in his address to the United Nations General Assembly.
The president called it a "cooperative architecture that guarantees collective protection of life and safety" that will also lay the groundwork for the North to have its security guaranteed by engaging with the world.
Victor Cha, a Korea expert at the Washington-based Center for Strategic and International Studies, noted sharing of information itself may be an incentive for the North to take part.
"So I think there's a lot of information that could be shared among China, Japan and South Korea when it comes to dealing with the pandemic. Obviously, this is a pivot to bring in North Korea, you know. That's certainly part of what Moon is doing. But I think it's a useful initiative," he told a virtual seminar hosted by CSIS.
Pyongyang has yet to officially report any outbreak of the new coronavirus, but it's widely believed the communist nation may be facing a "triple whammy," which includes COVID-19, shutdown of its borders and economic difficulties created by international sanctions and compounded by recent typhoons.
John Nilsson-Wright, Northeast Asia researcher at the London-based think tank Chatham House, called the initiative a potential pragmatic approach to engage North Korea as a member.
He told the webinar that the distinction is important because it "allows them to claim some agency -- so that it doesn't look as if they're the recipient of a charitable handout."
Meanwhile, the experts noted the North will likely refrain from military provocations at least until after the U.S. presidential election.
"I see most likely North Korea reverting back to provocation probably after the November election," said Sue Mi Terry, a former CIA official who now serves as a senior fellow at CSIS, adding that she expects regime leader Kim Jong-un to adopt a "wait-and-see attitude" to first see what happens to President Donald Trump.
On a similar note, Terry said the U.S. too will stay away from provoking North Korea for the time being.
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