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US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Workers’ Party of Korea Vice Chairman and United Front Department Director Kim Yong-chol shake hands during their second meeting in New York on May 31. (Pompeo’s Twitter account)
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“2+2” format appears to aim to increased efficiency in current deadlock
The high-level North Korea-US talks that US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo confirmed will be held next week are likely to adopt a “2+2”format with representatives attending from working-level negotiations, a source reported. Addressing the possibility that the North Korea-US following talks would follow a 2+2 format with senior- and working-level representatives meeting, a foreign affairs source familiar with the two sides’ negotiations told the Hankyoreh on Nov. 2 that “the US is indeed hoping for that, and there’s a pretty good likelihood that’s how it will actually happen.” This means a strong chance that the high-level meeting between Pompeo and his North Korean counterpart – predicted to be Workers’ Party of Korea Vice Chairman and United Front Department Director Kim Yong-chol – will also be attended by the two sides’ officials in charge of working-level negotiations, namely US State Department Special Representative for North Korea Policy Stephen Biegun and North Korean Vice Foreign Minister Choe Son-hui. Washington’s concept appeared based on the conclusion that combining the working-level and high-level talks rather than keeping them separated would be a more efficient approach amid the current lack of progress in working-level discussions. Another source familiar with activities in Washington said, “There is absolutely no need to separate the high-level and working-level talks.” “Working-level matters can be discussed at high-level talks and vice versa. There isn’t any need for one of them to come first,” the source said. If Pyongyang does agree to Washington’s idea, the high-level and working-level representatives are expected either to all meet together at the North Korea-US follow-up talks next week or to meet separately at different times. North Korea’s response to the US idea was not confirmed. “As far as I know, the North has not sent a definite reply yet,” a foreign affairs source said. The format could also be restricted to high-level talks depending on the response from Pyongyang. But the prevailing view among observers is that North Korea has little cause for dragging things out longer when the representatives for the working-level talks have yet to even see North Korean leader Kim Jong-un’s face after his agreement to the negotiations. After Pompeo’s meeting with Kim during a North Korean visit last month, the State Department issued an Oct. 7 press release saying Pompeo and Kim had “agreed to instruct their respective working-level teams to meet soon to intensify discussions on the key remaining issues to deliver on the Singapore Summit Joint Statement.” Challenges presented by three main agenda items Now seen as likely to adopt a 2+2 format, the follow-up talks are expected to focus on three main areas: North Korea’s concrete denuclearization process, reductions in sanctions and other corresponding measures from the US, and the schedule and agenda for a second North Korea-US summit. With Pompeo announcing that the two sides could “make a substantial breakthrough in taking down the nuclear threat from North Korea” in their next summit, many are watching to see whether concrete progress toward denuclearization negotiations can be achieved at the talks. In terms of the denuclearization process, plans for US verification of the Punggye Village nuclear test site and Tongchang Village missile engine testing site are expected to be discussed. In an Oct. 31 interview with Laura Ingraham, Pompeo discussed the matter of a US inspection team visiting the facilities to check on the progress of denuclearization. “It’s one of the things I’ll speak with my [North Korean] counterpart next week about,” he confirmed. Ongoing tug-of-war over denuclearization and correspondent lifting of sanctions Issues surrounding sanctions against North Korea also appear likely to come up for discussion. On Nov. 1, the North’s Rodong Sinmun paper published an article quoting Kim Jong-un’s reference to “hostile forces [. . . ] foolishly rampaging with dastardly sanction machinations” ahead of the North Korea-US follow-up talks – essentially denouncing the sanctions by the US. In a radio appearance on Nov. 1, Pompeo clearly affirmed that the US is insisting on denuclearization and verification before the lifting of sanctions. “The economic sanctions [against North Korea] will not be lifted until such time as we have had the capacity to verify that they have eliminated their nuclear program,” he said in an interview on the “Lars Larson Show.” In another appearance on the “Mark Reardon Show,” Pompeo said, “[O]nce we’ve had the capacity, the opportunity to verify that this [denuclearization] has taken place, then and only then will the economic sanctions that have been put on North Korea be removed.” The tug-of-war between the two sides over denuclearization measures and the removal of sanctions is seen as likely to continue in their follow-up talks. Another key issue will be coordination of the schedule and agenda for the second North Korea-US summit, which Pompeo has said he hopes will happen early next year. The two sides are expected to narrow down the summit schedule and exchange specific ideas on the location. In addition to the North Korea-US follow-up talks, a South Korea-US working group also appears set to begin full-scale operation. Lee Do-hoon, the South Korean Ministry of Foreign Affairs special representative for Korean Peninsula peace and security affairs, is expected to visit the US around the same time as the follow-up talks. Around this time, the two sides are expected to hold the first meeting of the working group after a final decision on its launch during an Oct. 28–29 South Korea visit by Biegun. By Noh Ji-won, staff reporter, and Hwang Joon-bum, Washington correspondent Please direct comments or questions to [english@hani.co.kr]
