International efforts to dismantle the nuclear program of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, hereafter North Korea, have been marked by limited and inconsistent engagement and distrust. One often-overlooked diplomatic process that has been continuous and has supported the development of greater trust is parliamentary diplomacy.

Parliamentary diplomacy is best known as a process for dialogue between parliamentarians of different countries, typified by the Inter-Parliamentary Union. With globalisation and the greater impact of foreign affairs on domestic politics, parliamentarians have also started to undertake roles commonly associated with traditional diplomats, including the tasks of representation, negotiation and mediation.