Senior North Korean official Kim Yong-chol reportedly bound for Washington to meet President Donald Trump
- US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo made several trips to Pyongyang last year but the two sides had not rescheduled an abruptly cancelled November meeting
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is about to hold high-level talks in Washington DC with North Korean senior official Kim Yong-chol on Thursday or Friday, and both sides are fine-tuning details, a South Korean newspaper said.
The North Korean official is likely to meet President Donald Trump as well, the Chosun newspaper said on Tuesday, citing an unnamed diplomatic source familiar with the talks between the US and North Korea.
This month, Trump said he had received a “great” letter from North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and would probably meet him again in the not-too-distant future, as part of efforts to persuade him to give up his nuclear weapons.
Pompeo made several trips to Pyongyang last year, but the two sides have not rescheduled an abruptly cancelled November meeting between him and Kim Yong-chol that aimed at paving the way for a second summit.
Washington and Seoul have been discussing potential US measures to reciprocate North Korea’s possible steps toward denuclearisation, such as dismantling the Yongbyon main nuclear complex or intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) aimed at the US, South Korean officials said.
Potential US corresponding action also includes exemptions from sanctions for inter-Korean business and tour ventures and opening a liaison office as a prelude to a formal launch of diplomatic relations, Seoul officials said.
The end goal remains unchanged
“Those ideas are being discussed as interim measures, not as an end state, in order to expedite the denuclearisation process because the North wouldn’t respond to any demand for a declaration of facilities and weapons,” a senior South Korean official said, requesting anonymity due to the sensitivity of the matter. “The end goal remains unchanged, whether it be complete, verifiable and irreversible denuclearisation, or final, fully verified denuclearisation.”
The official said a second summit between Trump and Kim might happen in late February or early March, though: “No one knows what Trump is thinking.”
Kim renewed his resolve to meet Trump again during his meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing last week. Trump also said this month he had received a “great” letter from Kim and would probably meet him again in the not-too-distant future.
“At the second summit, they’ll probably focus on reaching a possible interim deal rather than a comprehensive roadmap for denuclearisation,” said Cheong Seong-chang, a senior fellow at South Korea’s Sejong Institute. “Whether Pyongyang is willing to abolish ICBMs, in addition to disabling the Yongbyon complex, would be key, and if so, the North will likely demand sanctions relief in return.”
