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The Blue House
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Officials anticipating visit to happen as early as late March
The Blue House is reportedly preparing for a reciprocal visit to Seoul by North Korean leader Kim Jong-un on the assumption that it will take place around late March at the earliest. The preparations appear to reflect its aims of using the outcome of a second North Korea-US summit – expected to take place in late February – to ensure “substance” in the inter-Korean summit in Seoul, including areas related to inter-Korean economic cooperation. “If the second North Korea-US summit takes place in late February as expected, we anticipate Chairman Kim will pay a reciprocal visit to Seoul as early as late March,” a key Blue House official said. “There’s a good chance some of the sanctions on the North will be loosened or lifted if Chairman Kim and President [Donald] Trump have a smooth summit,” the official predicted. The official went on to say South and North Korea would “need to fully examine what forms of cooperation and exchange efforts they could have in the economy and other areas based on the agreement at the North Korea-US summit.” “There’s going to need to be at least a month of working-level efforts to prepare concretely for the summit.” The same official added, “During this process, we will need to closely coordinate with the US on whether any of the inter-Korean economic cooperation efforts clash with UN or US sanctions, and on which areas it would be possible to circumvent sanctions in.” The remarks signaled the Blue House’s plans to prepare thoroughly to ensure that the historic occasion of a first-ever Seoul visit by a North Korean leader produces tangible results for both sides. Another Blue House senior official noted, “We had no fewer than three inter-Korean summits last year, so there won’t be any particular problems preparing in terms of protocol and Chairman Kim’s security.” “The more important question is what level of results the North Korea-US summit produces. We should view the preparations for the inter-Korean summit as beginning after that,” the official added. Economic cooperation is a matter of common interest for South and North. In a New Year’s press conference on Jan. 10, President Moon Jae-in predicted it would serve as a “historic driving force for growth that breathes new vitality into our economy.” “This is an opportunity available only to us, and while we don’t know when it will happen, it is a boon in reserve for us,” he said at the time. Meanwhile, the Blue House held a third meeting of its inter-Korean Joint Statement implementation committee the same day under Presidential Chief of Staff Noh Young-min to review developments with the second North Korea-US summit and related response plans, as well as directions for implementation of the inter-Korean Joint Statement for 2019 and inter-Korean joint commemorative efforts to the 100th anniversary of the March 1 Independence Movement. Presiding over his first meeting of the committee since taking over as chief of staff, Noh said, “I looked forward to more dramatic changes this year than last year.” “The first half of this year is going to be a very busy time,” he predicted. By Seong Yeon-cheol, staff reporter Please direct comments or questions to [english@hani.co.kr]
