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\"North Korean leadership might have thought that it was not a good time to continuously increase the pressure on both the U.S. and South Korea when the White House announced not to proceed with the decision to add economic sanctions on North Korea,\" Bong Young-shik, research fellow at Yonsei Institute for North Korean Studies, told ABC News. \"North's leadership may have chosen to be in a wait-and-see mode.\"

Some saw the withdrawal and return as a tacit statement from Kim Jong Un's and a message that North Korea is aware of public sentiment eyeing their actions.

\"It seems North Korea was under pressure of being viewed in a negative light if they closed down the liaison office for good, thereby refusing to maintain dialogue,\" Kim Yong-hyun, professor of North Korean Studies at Seoul-based Dongguk University, told ABC News. \"At the same time, North Korea is also sending a signal that they are willing to communicate with the U.S.\"

\"PHOTO:
Jorge Silva/AFP/Getty Images, FILE
PHOTO: North Korea's leader Kim Jong Un attends a wreath laying ceremony at the Ho Chi Minh mausoleum in Hanoi on March 2, 2019.
>

\"Through the withdrawal of its staff, North Korea seems to have concluded that they are able to spoil the mood of inter-Korean talks if needed and to call for full-scale economic cooperation,\" Shin Beom-chul, director of the Center for Security and Unification at the Seoul-based Asan Institute for Policy Studies, said.

Bong also predicted that North Korean leadership is not likely to resume its missile tests or nuclear tests immediately, for that could force the Trump administration to choose maximum pressure on the regime.

\"When North Korea crosses the red line, then it will really tighten the choices for the Trump administration even if it favors engagement and dialogue with North Korea,\" Bong said.

ABC News’ Hansol Park and Sorah Choi contributed to this report.

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