Exactly one year after a speech that offered an olive branch to North Korea’s traditional enemies and triggered a flurry of diplomatic activity, Kim Jong-un has another decision to make. And the sense is that he may opt for magnanimity.

When he gives his annual address to the North Korean People on January 1, Mr Kim can use the occasion to berate Washington for refusing to lift international sanctions on his regime and hit back at accusations of human rights abuses, or he can signal he is ready to resume discussions that have stagnated since his meeting with President Donald Trump in Singapore in June. 

Sanctions have unquestionably hurt North Korea’s economy – the South Korean central bank estimated…