[Editorial] Seoul must use Trump’s upcoming visit as opportunity to facilitate N. Korea-US dialogue

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un reads a personal letter from US President Donald Trump. (KCNA/Yonhap News)

The ‘correspondence diplomacy’ in which the leaders of the United States and North Korea exchange letters with each other has made another appearance. Several days ago, US President Donald Trump said that he had received a “beautiful letter” from North Korea Chairman Kim Jong-un, while Kim stated that he received a letter “of excellent content” from President Trump on June 23. This demonstrates that although negotiations between the US and North Korea have been deadlocked for the past several months, the friendship and trust between the two leaders remain intact. This is even more eye-catching as it comes at a time when a series of meetings between the heads of state of South Korea, the US and China are set to take place during this week’s G20 summit. It is hoped that the letters will serve as a stepping stone towards the resumption of talks between the US and North Korea.

Chairman Kim is said to have expressed satisfaction with Trump’s personal letter upon reading it, stating that it was “of excellent content.” He went on to say “I appreciate President Trump’s political judgment and extraordinary courage” and “I will seriously contemplate the interesting content.” Kim’s reaction appears to be filled with goodwill. Although he did not reveal any specific content from the letter, this suggests that it contained important proposals worthy of close consideration. The personal letter was extensively covered in front page reports in the Roding Sinmun and other media outlets, which is unprecedented for the North Korean press. This is evidence that North Korea has taken the personal letter to heart on this occasion.

A few days earlier, President Trump stated that he had received a “very warm” and “beautiful” personal letter from Chairman Kim, and the most recent letter appears to be a reply to this. The two leaders set a precedent of exchanging letters to reaffirm their trust and commitment to dialogue when faced with unexpected difficulties during the process of setting up the two previous summit meetings. It is hoped that the most recent exchange of letters will help to get negotiations back on track after a period of limbo following the breakdown of the second US-North Korea summit in Hanoi in late February.

In terms of timing, the exchange of letters was made public during the period between Chinese President Xi Jinping’s visit to North Korea last week and this week’s US-China summit. Although some believe that Xi’s visit to North Korea is an attempt to thwart any US intention of leveraging the ‘North Korean card’ ahead of the summit at a time when the US and China are engaged in a trade war, this is not necessarily the case. Chairman Kim openly expressed his willingness to engage in dialogue during Xi’s visit to North Korea last week, repeating that he would “remain patient.” In response, Xi said that he supported “a political solution to the issues on the Korean Peninsula.” In line with Kim’s expression of gratitude towards Trump’s personal letter, this can be viewed as creating a more favorable atmosphere for Xi to convey Kim’s willingness to engage in dialogue to Trump during the US-China summit, which is set to be held in a few days during the G20 summit.

They say that it takes more than pearls to make a necklace. After the G20 summit, Trump will visit South Korea for a US-South Korea summit. The diplomatic stage for North Korea, South Korea, the US, and China will now shift to Seoul after passing through Pyongyang and Osaka, and the South Korean government will need to use all of its wisdom to take advantage of this opportunity to ensure the resumption of denuclearization talks between the US and North Korea.

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