Posted on : May.26,2018 14:32 KST
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North Korean leader Kim Jong-un enjoys a magic show during the welcoming ceremony for the Apr. 27 Inter-Korean Summit at Panmunjeom. (Blue House photo pool)
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Statement by Kim Kye-gwan makes public response under Kim Jong-un’s authorization
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North Korean leader Kim Jong-un enjoys a magic show during the welcoming ceremony for the Apr. 27 Inter-Korean Summit at Panmunjeom. (Blue House photo pool)
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US President Donald Trump’s decision to cancel the North Korea-US summit and his subsequent behavior has reminded many of a real estate broker playing hard to get – walking away from negotiations while handing his client a business card and inviting them to call if they change their mind.
How will North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, who is regarded as the master of brinkmanship in diplomatic negotiations, respond to such brinkmanship by President Trump, who has an absolute advantage as the leader of the world’s only superpower?
After Trump’s late-night announcement that the North Korea-US summit, scheduled to be held in Singapore on June 12, would not be taking place, Kim has opted for now not to respond with brinkmanship. Instead, the North issued a statement early in the morning of May 25 by First Vice Foreign Minister Kim Kye-gwan, acting “under authorization [from above].”
The statement said, “The inglorious situation today is a vivid expression of [. . .] the urgent necessity for the summit meeting.” While the statement did not specify who had given that authorization, a former high-ranking South Korean official who is adept at interpreting North Korean rhetoric said that “this statement expressed North Korea’s official position in line with Kim Jong-un’s will.”
The statement’s tone of respect and quick turnaround – both unprecedented for North Korea – reflect Kim Jong-un’s commitment to making an immediate response. “The fact that the decision was made so quickly, in the middle of the night, is evidence that Kim Jong-un has already decided his course of action,” said the former high-ranking official.
The motivations of this quick response can be inferred from the content of the statement. The North described the May 24 statement by Vice Foreign Minister Choe Son-hui, which Trump had cited as the reason for his cancellation of the summit, as being “just a reaction to the unbridled remarks made by the US side.”
According to this explanation, Choe’s statement was just an emotional reaction and did not represent anything more serious. North Korea also did not try to conceal its consternation at Trump’s “unexpected” announcement about canceling the summit.
“Regardless of ways at any time”
The statement also went to great pains to flatter Trump. Some parts seemed purposely on the nose, with North Korea admitting that it “inwardly highly appreciated President Trump for having made the bold decision” and “inwardly hoped” for positive results from “what is called [the] ‘Trump formula.’”
“The chairman of the State Affairs Commission of the DPRK [i.e., Kim Jong-un] has also exerted all efforts for the preparations for the summit, saying that the meeting with President Trump could help make a good start,” the statement said.
This represented Kim Jong-un’s first response to several messages from Trump. In the letter announcing the cancellation of the summit, Trump said, “If you change your mind having to do with this most important summit, please do not hesitate to call me or write. During the signing of business legislation on May 24, Trump said that the summit might be held as planned or at a later time and added that, “If and when Kim Jong-un chooses to engage in constructive dialogue and actions, I am waiting.”
The North Korean statement concluded with a gesture aimed at wooing the US: “We would like to make known to the US side once again that we have the intent to sit with the US side to solve problems regardless of ways at any time."
This represents a significant, if belated, change of attitude for North Korea, given remarks by a senior White House official that the North had agreed during US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo’s visit to Pyongyang on May 9 to hold technical meetings last week in Singapore to prepare for the summit, but that the North Koreans had failed to show up without providing any advance notice.
That is why experts think that the North Korea-US summit “still has a chance,” to borrow the phrase of a senior official in the area of foreign policy and security. But it is widely thought that the May 25 statement will not convince Trump to change his mind right away.
“Since Trump sent the letter [cancelling the meeting] in the capacity of the American president, reopening the path to the summit will require Kim Jong-un to give Trump a personal response to help him save face,” said a former senior official. This raises the question of whether Kim will write Trump, and if so, how soon he will do so.
By Lee Je-hun, senior staff writer
Please direct comments or questions to [english@hani.co.kr]
