US calls for high-level meeting at end of Oct. to prepare for 2nd N. Korea-US summit

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo during a joint press conference with Mexican Foreign Secretary Luis Videgaray in Mexico City on Oct. 19. (AP)

Pompeo hints at negotiations to work out summit details during VOA interview

As North Korea and the US continue their tug-of-war over what should come first --denuclearization by the North or corresponding measures by the US -- leading up to their second summit, the US is trying to engineer a breakthrough by calling for a high-level meeting at the end of October.

The next issue is whether the high-level meeting will help the two sides break out of their bottleneck and bring about a preliminary agreement that will quickly lead to a second summit between North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and US President Donald Trump.

“We’re working on finding dates and times and places [for the summit] that will work for each of the two leaders [President Trump and Chairman Kim]. I’m very hopeful we’ll have senior leader meetings here in the next week and a half or so between myself and my counterpart to continue this discussion so that when the two of them get together there’s real opportunity to make another big step forward on denuclearization,” US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said during an interview with Voice of America on Oct. 19.

The mention of “the next week and a half” means that high-level North Korea-US talks could be held at the end of this month. Considering that the working-level meeting between US Special Representative for North Korea Stephen Biegun and North Korean Vice Foreign Minister Choe Son-hee has not been held, it’s uncertain whether Pompeo’s reference to “senior leader meetings” means that the working-level meeting would be held first or that he would move forward with a high-level meeting. At any rate, a high-level meeting is likely to provide a critical opportunity to reach a compromise on the debate over denuclearization and corresponding measures prior to the summit.

During Pompeo’s fourth trip to North Korea on Oct. 7, the US reportedly asked the North to take more steps, such as disclosing a list of its nuclear weapons and facilities, in addition to the closure of its nuclear facilities in Punggye Village, Dongchang Village and Yongbyon. This reportedly elicited strong pushback from the North and a demand for the US to take corresponding measures, such as formally ending the Korean War and easing sanctions.

The central challenge of the North Korea-US negotiations is to create an action plan while balancing each other’s demands. In connection with this, South Korean President Moon Jae-in said during his summit with Danish Prime Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen on Oct. 20 that “Making a timetable for the denuclearization process and the US’ corresponding measures will be the agenda of the second North Korea-US summit.”

“The reason that Choe Son-hee and Stephen Biegun haven’t held working-level talks yet is because North Korea and the US haven’t reached an agreement on their list of demands [about denuclearization and corresponding measures]. Pompeo proposed meeting with the North Koreans because the North and the US have arranged an agenda through backroom negotiations and the US has fixed its position about easing sanctions,” said Cho Sung-ryul, senior research fellow for the Institute for National Security Strategy.

If the framework of the agenda for the second North Korea-US summit is put in place during the high-level talks, it will be possible for Biegun and Choe to launch their negotiations about the list of concessions the two sides will swap in regard to the initial steps toward denuclearization and corresponding measures.

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un during the former’s fourth visit to Pyongyang on Oct. 7. (US President Donald Trump’s Twitter account)

Timing and location of summit to be on table of high-level meeting

The timing and location of the summit is also likely to be up for discussion during the high-level talks. North Korea reportedly hopes to hold the summit in Pyongyang as soon as possible, while the US reportedly prefers holding the summit in a third country such as Switzerland or Sweden while it waits for North Korea to take additional steps toward denuclearization. It is also possible that Biegun and Choe will be introduced to each other during the high-level talks.

The announcement by South Korea and top US military officials on Oct. 19 that they will suspend this year’s Vigilant Ace Air Force exercise, which is normally held each December, is also expected to help boost the mood for dialogue between North Korea and the US.

There’s also expected to be coordination between South Korea and the US in preparation for the North Korea-US negotiations. On Oct. 21, Lee Do-hoon, South Korea’s special representative for Korean Peninsula peace and security affairs, departed the country to coordinate the two countries’ policy on North Korea. Lee is scheduled to deliberate upcoming North Korea-US negotiations, including their second summit, during meetings with Biegun and other officials in Washington through Oct. 23.

“This seems to be a question of when they’ll set the time. I think we’re past the stage of asking whether or not it will happen,” Lee said in regard to Biegun and Choe’s working-level meeting.

Consequences of US delaying 2nd summit until next year

At the same time, the US is sending signals that it won’t rush the second North Korea-US summit. An anonymous official in the US government told reporters on Oct. 19 that the second summit was likely to take place early next year. During a rally for the midterm elections on Oct. 20, Trump said that North Korean affairs would turn out well but said he wouldn’t try to rush them. Trump appears to be attempting to seize the initiative by stating that he won’t be pressed for time in his negotiations with North Korea.

If the second North Korea-US summit is pushed back to next year, it will make it harder to implement agreements reached by the leaders of South and North Korea, including making an end-of-war declaration and Kim Jong-un paying a return visit to Seoul before the end of the year. That shows how important the North Korea-US high-level talks are.

By Hwang Joon-bum, Washington correspondent, and Kim Ji-eun, staff reporter

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