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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, 2018. (provided by the US Department of State)
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HIgh-level meeting likely to be held with Pompeo on Jan. 18
Kim Yong-chol, vice chairman of the Workers’ Party of Korea and director of North Korea’s United Front Department, is arriving in Washington, DC, for a two-day visit that appears likely to include high-level talks with US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo. The possibility of North Korean Vice Foreign Minister Choe Son-hui meeting with US State Department Special Representative for North Korea Stephen Biegun also cannot be ruled out. North Korea-US dialogue channels are moving with urgency ahead of a possible second summit between North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and US President Donald Trump. A CNN report on Jan. 15 said that Kim Yong-chol is scheduled to arrive in Washington on Jan. 17 and meet with Pompeo the following day. While the report added that the prospects of Kim Jong-un meeting Trump remain unclear, it also noted that Kim Yong-chol met with Pompeo in New York 12 days before the first North Korea-US summit last year, and delivered a letter from Kim Jong-un to Trump at the White House the day after the New York meeting. Kim Yong-chol appears likely to meet with Trump again and deliver another letter from Kim Jong-un after the high-level talks. A diplomatic source in Washington, DC, noted, “Since one of the reasons the planned high-level talks in New York on Nov. 8 didn’t come off was because Kim would not be able to meet with Trump, the fact that [Kim] is going straight to Washington this time suggests there will be a meeting with Trump.” Kim was confirmed on Jan. 16 to have made reservations on United Air flight UA808, which departs Beijing Capital International Airport for Washington at 6:25 pm on Jan. 17 (local time). He is seen as likely to arrive in Beijing on an Air Koryo flight leaving Pyongyang at 10:30 that morning and transfer to the US-bound flight from there. The United flight is scheduled to arrive in Washington around 6:50 pm on Jan. 17. This will be the first time a North Korean has flown directly into Washington without another stop in the US. Kim’s overnight stay in Washington would also be the first in the 19 years since an Oct. 2000 visit by then-National Defense Commission Vice Chairman and People’s Army Vice Marshall Jo Myong Rok. But diplomatic observers advised a wait-and-see approach, noting that Kim booked and cancelled tickets three times for his visit to the US in late May 2018, alternating the destination between New York and Washington. With both Kim Jong-un and Trump appearing strongly committed to a second summit, a date and venue may be finalized and announced during the high-level talks. That announcement could end up delayed, however, if Pompeo – who regards the first summit as having failed to achieve substantive progress on North Korea’s denuclearization – and other officials insist on first verifying the agenda and anticipated outcome of the second summit. While Choe Son-hui was observed in Beijing on Jan. 15, her plans remained unclear as of the afternoon of Jan. 16. While she reported her destination as an “international conference in Sweden,” her name was included alongside Kim Yong-chol’s on a list of reservations for the Washington-bound flight on Jan. 17; it was subsequently reported that she had purchased a ticket to Sweden for the same afternoon. Despite rife speculation on the possibility of 2+2 talks in Washington between Pompeo and Biegun on the US side and Kim and Choe on the North Korean side or a separate first meeting between Choe and Biegun in Stockholm, nothing has yet been confirmed. “Everything is still up in the air right now,” a diplomatic source said. “Nothing has been decided.” S. Korea-China senior-level talks on denuclearization scheduled for Jan. 17 in Seoul Meanwhile, South Korean Ministry of Foreign Affairs Special Representative for Korean Peninsula Peace and Security Affairs Lee Do-hoon is scheduled to meet in Seoul on Jan. 17 with Chinese Vice Foreign Minister and Special Representative on Korean Peninsular Affairs Kong Xuanyou for the first senior-level South Korea-China talks on the North Korean nuclear issue in three months. Among other areas, discussions are expected to focus on the outcome of Kim Jong-un’s recent fourth visit to China. By Hwang Joon-bum, Washington correspondent, Kim Oi-hyun, Beijing correspondent, and Kim Ji-eun, staff reporter Please direct comments or questions to [english@hani.co.kr]
