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Workers’ Party of Korea Vice Chairman Kim Yong-chol, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and US State Department Special Representative for North Korea Policy Stephen Biegun take a commemorative photograph before their high-level talks at the Dupont Circle Hotel in Washington, DC, on Jan. 18. (AP)
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Two are expected to discuss preparations for 2nd North Korea-US summit
North Korean Vice Foreign Minister Choe Son-hui and US State Department Special Representative for North Korea Policy Stephen Biegun are expected to meet in Sweden between Jan. 19 and 22. In a statement released by the US State Department, Deputy Spokesperson Robert Palladino said, “Secretary Pompeo and Special Representative for North Korea Stephen Biegun met with DPRK Vice Chairman Kim Yong Chol in Washington Jan. 18,” adding that they “discussed efforts to make progress on the commitments President Trump and Chairman Kim Jong Un made at their summit in Singapore” and that Biegun will attend an international conference hosted by the Swedish Foreign Ministry on Jan. 19-22. After holding high-level talks with Pompeo and Biegun in Washington, DC, Kim Yong-chol met with US President Donald Trump at the White House. Soon afterward, White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders announced that the second North Korea-US summit will likely be held around the end of February. At the conclusion of the Secretary’s meeting with Vice Chairman Kim, the two sides held a productive first meeting at the high level. Special Representative Biegun will travel to Sweden January 19-22 to participate in an international conference hosted by the Swedish foreign ministry. As Choe Son-hui is expected to attend the same conference in Sweden, the countdown for her meeting with Biegun has more or less begun. Reuters reported that on Jan. 18, Swedish Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Vilhelm Rundquist said that Choe Son Hui had landed in Sweden "to take part in talks in a minor format where international experts take part." After landing in Sweden on Jan. 17, Choe went to the North Korean Embassy on the outskirts of Stockholm the following day. At around 5:30 pm on Jan. 18, she met with Swedish Foreign Minister Margot Wallstrom. If the meeting between Choe and Biegun comes to fruition, it will be Biegun’s first personal encounter with Choe since being appointed in August 2018, and it is likely their discussion will revolve around preparations for the second North Korea-Summit, including denuclearization and corresponding measures from the US. South Korean Special Representative for Korean Peninsula Peace and Security Affairs Lee Do-hoon is also reported to have departed for Sweden on Jan. 18. Lee is expected to engage in North Korea-US working level talks, which have been deadlocked, inter-Korean dialogue, and trilateral talks among the two Koreas and the US. By Park Min-hee, staff wrirter
