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US President Donald Trump receives German Chancellor Angela Merkel at the White House on Apr. 27.
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Candidates for venue narrowed down to two locations
After the inter-Korean summit between South Korean President Moon Jae-in and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, US President Donald Trump hinted that only a couple of sites are still being considered for his own meeting with Kim and that the summit will probably be held in May. Preparations for the North Korea-US summit appear to be moving into high gear. During a press conference following his summit with German Chancellor Angela Merkel at the White House on Apr. 27, Trump said that good things could be in store for the North Korea-US summit. "We're down to two countries as to a site," Trump said. His remark suggests that considerable progress has been even since the previous day, when he said there were five potential sites. During a briefing about the content of a telephone call between South Korean President Moon Jae-in and Trump on Apr. 29, the Blue House said the potential sites had been narrowed down to two or three sites and that opinions had been exchanged about the pros and cons of each site. While Trump did not make any specific mention of the sites being considered, a senior official at the Blue House and multiple sources in Washington, D.C. are speculating that it is not Singapore, Mongolia or Switzerland, as previous reports have suggested, but rather South Korea or some other country that is under consideration. A senior official at the Blue House said that North Korea and the US are not possible sites for the summit and declined to answer a question about whether South Korea was on the short list, noting that “President Moon has already suggested some locations, too.” Considering that Trump has praised the results of the inter-Korean summit, if Moon suggested a couple of locations in South Korea, Trump may have responded by saying he would seriously consider them. But the New York Times, CNN, and other major US news outlets view Singapore or Mongolia as more likely contenders, citing US administration officials. Japan’s Kyodo news agency reported that Geneva is still a strong candidate. But the Swiss city appears to be an unrealistic option in terms of level of attention, transportation conditions, and prior candidate site discussions, among other factors. Experts have yet to rule out the possibility of the summit taking place in Pyongyang. Their conclusion is that Trump may opt for Pyongyang as the setting for the first-ever North Korea-US summit, given his proclivity for grabbing attention through unexpected moves. The North Korean capital does have some drawbacks as a venue. If Trump were to visit himself, he may leave himself open to criticisms at home for recognizing and legitimizing the North Korean regime. For this reason, some observers see Trump’s repeated remarks expressing his anticipation of the North Korea-US summit as an effort to build a favorable climate for Pyongyang to be accepted as a summit site. The date of the summit is also expected to be moved up from initial predictions. During an Apr. 28 rally for the midterm elections in Washington, Michigan, Trump said the summit could take place “over the next three or four weeks” – sooner than the “late May or early June” date he had mentioned previously. The remarks about moving up the timeline suggest some progress has been made in bridging differences with North Korea not only on practical issues concerning the venue, security, and protocol, but also on denuclearization and other key issues. By Yi Yong-in, Washington correspondent Please direct questions or comments to [english@hani.co.kr]
