[Editorial] Pompeo’s meeting with Kim Jong-un raises hopes for US-North Korea summit

South Korean President Moon Jae-in, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, US President Donald Trump, and Chinese President Xi Jinping. Following US Secretary of State nominee Mike Pompeo’s top secret trip to Pyongyang to meet with Kim Jong-un, Trump told reporters that he’d given his “blessing” to ongoing discussions about ending the Korean War.

North Korea and the US have taken another stride closer to their historic summit. The US press reported on Apr. 17 that Secretary of State nominee Mike Pompeo paid a top secret visit to North Korea early this month and met with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un as a special envoy for President Donald Trump. Trump himself seemed to confirm this when he said in a meeting with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe that his administration had spoken directly with Pyongyang’s top echelons. This is very good news that raises hopes for a fruitful summit to come.

The fact that someone as close to Trump as Pompeo flew to Pyongyang and met personally with Kim is a sign of just how seriously the US is taking the upcoming summit. One can sense the commitment to producing some sort of definitive outcome from the talks. Trump further fanned hopes by once again clearly stating that the summit date would be in early June or sooner.

Pompeo expressed optimism about the summit in a confirmation hearing on Apr. 12 after his return from meeting Kim. Trump himself could scarcely conceal his hopes for the summit, announcing the same day that major progress had been made. With denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula representing the biggest item on the summit agenda, this suggests some degree of coordination on the issue has taken place between the two sides.

In terms of denuclearization, the US is demanding a package deal while North Korea is calling for a “phased and simultaneous resolution” – but those are not necessarily mutually exclusive, which means there is some possibility for an agreement. Pyongyang and Washington will need to work seriously to find a final point of agreement. Reports also indicated that the line between South Korean National Intelligence Service director Suh Hoon and North Korean United Front Department director Kim Yong-chol was put to work for Pompeo’s visit, suggesting Seoul’s mediation efforts played a major part here as well.

Also noteworthy are Trump’s remarks about South and North Korea having his “blessing” to discuss to an end to the Korean War. The US President’s statement of support for discussions on an end to the war at the upcoming inter-Korean summit means Seoul will be able to approach that meeting with even more vigor. If the two sides can produce some sort of abstract declaration of an end to the Korean War at the summit – which is then confirmed at the North Korea-US summit and followed by a declaration of the war’s end at a trilateral summit by South and North Korea and the US – it would be a hugely symbolic event, breaking down one of the last remaining Cold War walls on earth.

The speed of progress in discussions suggests it may not be out of the realm of possibility for the three leaders to meet and declare an end to the conflict by the 65th anniversary of the armistice agreement on July 27. Hopefully, this is a vision that all parties can get behind.

North Korea and the US seem to be rapidly bridging the gap, but not all uncertainties have been removed. Trump may have expressed optimism on Apr. 17, but he did not completely close the door on the possibility of summit failing to happen. The choice of a venue for the summit is another factor adding to the uncertainty. The situation so far suggests the location for the North Korea-US summit has yet to be decided. Trump has at least stated the US will not be in the running as a venue. If this back-and-forth on the location of the site continues, Seoul will need to step forward and actively mediate as a “guide” for North Korea-US dialogue.

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