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UN Secretary General António Guterres (right) shakes hands with North Korean Foreign Minister Ri Yong-ho during the UN General Assembly in New York on Sept. 28. (Yonhap News)
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Ri Yong-ho puts ball in US’ court in keynote speech during UN General Assembly
North Korean Foreign Minister Ri Yong-ho delivered the ball back into the US’ court with calls for “corresponding measures” for denuclearization in a Sept. 29 keynote speech before the UN General Assembly in New York. Observers are now watching to see how trends develop in the US amid preparations for further denuclearization talks with the North following a third inter-Korean summit. The US government did not respond explicitly to Ri’s UN speech. Both President Donald Trump and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo avoided making direct references to it. But in response to questions from South Korean reporters about Ri’s speech, the State Department reiterated its basic position. “President Trump and Chairman Kim [Jong-un] have made several pledges with regard to final, fully verified denuclearization and creating a brighter future for North Korea. We are in discussions with North Korea on honoring all of these promises,” it said. The US press took note of Ri’s remarks ruling out “unilateral nuclear disarmament.” The New York Times titled its article on the remarks, “‘No Way North Korea Will Denuclearize Without U.S. Concessions,” while the AP said the remarks appeared aimed at pressuring a “wary” US into agreeing to a declaration ending the Korean War. But a diplomatic source in Washington noted, “North Korea and the US haven’t been at these negotiations for just a few days, and I don’t expect the US to be provoked or the negotiations to be upset by this speech.” The message implies the US is also regarding the speech as North Korea’s way of announcing its position to the world on the UN stage. In broader terms, the US has been showing a friendlier stance toward dialogue with North Korea since the third inter-Korean summit. Referring once again to a personal letter from Kim while stumping for the Republican Party the same day in West Virginia, Trump said, “He wrote me beautiful letters, and they’re great letters.” “We fell in love,” he added. The remarks came a few hours after Ri’s speech. But the possibility remains that both sides may run into some devilish details before concrete working-level talks begin. A case in point came during a Sept. 26 press conference where Trump said, “We're not playing the time game [with the North Korean denuclearization process]. If it takes two years, three years, or five months, it doesn't matter.” With North Korea hinting at plans to dismantle its Yongbyon nuclear complex, the message could be seen as an attempt to seize the advantage in negotiations. In terms of corresponding measures in response to initial denuclearization steps from North Korea, Washington has reportedly shifted to a more positive stance than initially on the matter of an end-of-war declaration. At the same time, it remains strong in its insistence on keeping sanctions in place until denuclearization is achieved. “The most important thing here is that North Korea and the US meet directly, putting their respective demands and timetables on the table and trying to connect them,” a senior South Korean government official said. He suggested that Pompeo’s scheduled fourth North Korea visit and US State Department Special Representative for North Korea Policy Stephen Biegun’s talks in Vienna with his North Korea counterpart will be pivotal in making a second North Korea-US summit happen. By Hwang Joon-bum, Washington correspondent, reporting from New York Please direct comments or questions to [english@hani.co.kr]
