N. Korea and US hold secret Panmunjom meeting

Panmunjom is devoid of the usual soldiers standing guard on both the South and North Korean sides on Nov. 26. In the rear is the House of Peace on the southern side. (photo pool)

Andrew Kim likely to have met Kim Song-hye or Kim Yong-chol

After getting stuck at the threshold of negotiations regarding denuclearization and the normalization of diplomatic relations, North Korea and the US appear to be making progress on their bilateral relations once again. For several days now, US President Donald Trump has been emphasizing his trust in North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and sending positive signals about their second summit, and now it turns out that the North Koreans and Americans held a top secret meeting at Panmunjom on Dec. 3.

“North Korea and the US appear to be making headway,” a high-ranking official in the South Korean government said on Dec. 4.

A source who is well-informed about the negotiations between North Korea and the US said “it’s true that several options [related to corresponding measures for North Korea’s denuclearization] are being reviewed inside the US administration.”

Whereas North Korean and US efforts to reach a compromise had been going nowhere, there now seem to be signs of change in their bilateral negotiations.

It hasn’t been confirmed exactly what kind of progress has been made by North Korea and the US or what kind of “options” the US is considering as corresponding measures. Nevertheless, diplomatic sources in Seoul believe that North Korea and the US may have narrowed some of their differences about North Korea’s initial steps toward denuclearization and the measures that the US should take in response.

During the inter-Korean summit in Pyongyang this past September, North Korea announced its willingness to conditionally shut down its Yongbyon nuclear facility and to permanently dismantle its facility at Tongchang Village in the presence of officials from related countries, but the US has apparently not offered any kind of corresponding measures. Since then, negotiators have failed to reach a compromise.

The fact that North Korea and the US are moving forward again raises the possibility that the two sides have discussed North Korea taking steps toward denuclearization that go beyond its promise to dismantle the Yongbyon nuclear facility and the US easing some sanctions on North Korea in the area of public livelihood and resuming humanitarian aid. Considering that the Trump administration has repeatedly declared its intention to hold the second North Korea-US summit early next year, this may well be aimed at setting the mood for that summit.

North Korean soldiers on duty in Panmunjom have recently changed their uniforms from formal attire to camouflage. The left photo shows North Korean soldiers in the new uniforms in the JSA area on Nov. 14, while the right photo shows a North Korean soldier standing guard in the conventional uniform in Panmunjom on Oct. 26. The left photo was taken by Rich Beal, a tour manager at Koryo Tours.

During the South Korea-US summit on Nov. 30, Trump responded positively to the idea of Kim Jong-un visiting Seoul, and he has resumed making friendly overtures to North Korea after a lull. South Korean President Moon Jae-in said that Trump had asked him to tell Kim that Trump would help him achieve what he wants. During a working dinner with Chinese President Xi Jinping on Dec. 1, Trump expressed his “friendship and respect” to Kim. In a tweet posted on Dec. 3 that bragged about the results of his meeting with Xi, Trump wrote, “A solution for North Korea is a great thing for China and all.”

These movements are attracting attention following confirmation of a meeting between Andrew Kim, head of the CIA’s Korea Mission Center, and North Korean officials at Panmunjom on Dec. 3. It was not revealed which North Korean officials met with Kim, who has been coordinating North Korea-US dialogue behind the scenes. In light of standard practice, North Korea is likely to have sent Kim Song-hye, head of the Unification Strategy Office at the United Front Department under the Workers’ Party of Korea (WPK), or Vice Foreign Minister Choe Son-hui.

There are also claims that WPK Vice Chairman and United Front Department Director Kim Yong-chol met Andrew Kim in Panmunjom, but these claims have not been confirmed. The diplomatic community has also raised the possibility that personal letters by Donald Trump and Kim Jong-un may have been exchanged at Panmunjom on Monday. Andrew Kim delivered a personal letter from Trump during a meeting with Kim Yong-chol in early July. According to another report, Andrew Kim met with North Korean officials in order to introduce his successor prior to his resignation from the CIA later this month.

By Kim Ji-eun, staff reporter

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