Kim Yong-chol to meet with Pompeo in US next week

North Korean United Front Department Director Kim Yong-chol (second from right) and US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo (left) at a dinner meeting during the former’s US visit in New York on May 30. (provided by the US Department of State)

Discussion on 2nd N. Korea-US summit likely to place in New York or Washington

A high-level meeting between Workers’ Party of Korea vice chairman and North Korean United Front Department Director Kim Yong-chol and US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo will reportedly be taking place in the US around the later part of next week.

Discussions in preparation for a second North Korea-US summit expected to take place early next year appear poised to gain momentum.

According to the account of a diplomatic source in Washington on Oct. 30, the two sides have effectively finished coordination toward holding the high-level talks - previously mentioned by Pompeo on Oct. 19 – sometime around late next week soon after the US midterm elections on Nov. 6. The most likely venue is to be New York City, where North Korea’s UN mission is located, although Washington, DC, has also been mentioned.

A South Korean Ministry of Foreign Affairs senior official said Seoul and Washington shared a schedule and agenda for the high-level talks during an Oct. 30 visit by US State Department Special Representative for North Korea Policy Stephen Biegun. After arriving in South Korea on Oct. 28, Biegun met on Oct. 29 with Blue House Chief of Staff Im Jong-seok, Minister of Foreign Affairs Kang Kyung-hwa, and Special Representative for Korean Peninsula Peace and Security Affairs Lee Do-hoon.

In remarks on Oct. 19, Pompeo said, “I’m very hopeful we’ll have senior leader meetings here in the next week and a half or so [in late October] between myself and my counterpart.” The two sides reportedly planned to hold high-level talks around late October, but ended up delaying them due to the situation on the US side. Kim is seen as likely to be North Korea’s counterpart in the meeting with Pompeo.

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo (center) and North Korean United Front Department Director Kim Yong-chol (left) view the New York skyline. (provided by the US Department of State)

Slim chances of Kim meeting with Trump

If Kim does attend the high-level talks next week, it will be his second visit to the US. The likelihood of him meeting US President Donald Trump appears slim, as Trump is scheduled to attend a centennial ceremony in Paris on Nov. 11 to commemorate the end of the First World War.

The date and venue for the second North Korea-US summit appear likely to be key issues at the high-level talks.

On Oct. 22, White House National Security Advisor John Bolton predicted the summit would take place after Jan. 1. Trump said on Oct. 9 that “three or four locations” other than the US and Singapore were being discussed. The US is reportedly in favor of holding the summit in a neutral third country in Europe such as Switzerland or Sweden.

The ongoing contention over sanctions and denuclearization

The high-level talks are also expected to include discussions on North Korea’s denuclearization measures and corresponding measures from the US. North Korea has invited inspectors to its Punggye Village nuclear test site and announced its intent to dismantle its engine testing site and missile launch pad at Tongchang Village; it has also announced its willingness to dismantle its nuclear facilities at Yongbyon, contingent on corresponding measures from Washington.

While Pyongyang has been vocal in demanding the loosening of sanctions and a declaration ending the Korean War from the US, Washington has countered that sanctions will not relaxed without denuclearization.

Discussions on the issues of denuclearization and corresponding measures appear likely to continue after the high-level talks at a follow-up meeting next month between Biegun and North Korean Vice Foreign Minister Choe Son-hui.

On the afternoon of Oct. 30, Biegun met with South Korean National Security Office director Chung Eui-yong to discuss the Korean Peninsula political situation in general and plans for close coordination and cooperation between the two sides in the process of advancing inter-Korean and North Korea-US relations. During his two-day visit, Biegun met with the full range of senior South Korean government officials in the areas of foreign affairs and national security, including his counterpart Lee Do-hoon as well as the Blue House National Security Office director and chief of staff and the Minister of Unification and Foreign Affairs.

Earlier, Biegun traveled to the Central Government Complex in Seoul to meet with Minister of Unification Cho Myoung-gyon. In their meeting, Biegun stressed that Seoul and Washington “want the same thing for the Korean Peninsula: peace and stability, primarily through denuclearization of North Korea.”

“There are many initiatives that we can cooperate on, and we are looking forward to working closely between the ministry and the US,” he continued.

Biegun also told Cho he was meeting his Ministry of Foreign Affairs counterpart Lee Do-hoon that evening for the 14th time since assuming his position on Aug. 23, adding that the importance of close partnership between the US and South Korea was being emphasized in all cases.

Cho replied that the current moment is “a very important time.”

“I am glad that your visit means discussions on plans for close cooperation between our two sides in connection with advancing inter-Korean and US-North Korea relations,” he told Biegun.

By Hwang Joon-bum, Washington correspondent, Noh Ji-won, staff reporter, and Lee Je-hun, senior staff writer

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