In the last year or so, Japan has quietly backed away from championing human rights in North Korea at the United Nations. 

Figures on North Korean refugees reaching South Korea, the United States and elsewhere in the last year are significantly lower than in the recent past.

The relationship between North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and U.S. President Donald Trump has been surprisingly cordial and positive since March 2018.

A clear indication of Pyongyang’s interest in the U.S.-Iran confrontation is that its tightly-controlled news media has been unusually quiet on the topic.

North Korea has participated in the UN's Universal Periodic Review of human rights, while it has been unwilling to engage other UN human rights mechanisms.

What the North Koreans do not understand, however, is that as Trump becomes increasingly focused on reelection, foreign policy may become less important.