Following a recent visit to Pyongyang by South Korean envoys, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un revealed that he seeks another summit with US President Donald Trump, which the White House has agreed to.
The development came after Kim sent a personal letter to Trump – his second such missive.
“It was a very warm, very positive letter,” White House Spokesperson Sarah Sanders said at a Monday press briefing, as reported by Reuters. “The primary purpose of the letter was to request and look to schedule another meeting with the president, which we are open to and are already in the process of coordinating that.”
The summit – for which no place or date has yet been set – comes at a critical time.
Critical relations, and South Korean brokering
Pyongyang and Washington are currently deeply divided over the former’s denuclearization. While the two agreed on the key issues of improving relations and denuclearizing North Korea during their summit in Singapore in June, their post-summit declaration contained no details or timelines as to how it would be achieved.
As a result, the euphoria over the summit quickly evaporated as no mutually agreed-upon denuclearization process has yet begun. While the American side seeks a full list of nuclear assets and facilities, the North Korean side is seeking a peace treaty to replace the armistice that ended the 1950-53 Korean War.
It seems likely that South Korean envoys played a role in the latest breakthrough. After returning from a day of meetings with Kim and his key aide, Kim Yong Chol, a former commander of espionage units, they revealed that they had a message from Kim to Trump, but did not clarify in what format the message was.
Their key mission had been to set the timing and dates for an inter-Korean summit, which will be the third between Kim and South Korean President Moon Jae-in, since their first meeting in April at the DMZ village of Panmunjom.
That summit will take place next week, from Sept 18-20, in Pyongyang. There, Moon Jae-in’s administration in Seoul has made clear that Moon himself seeks to play the role of a trusted party, mediating between the North Korean and US sides. Moon is then expected to meet Trump and brief him on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly at the end of this month.
Inter-Korean relations are also proceeding.
This Friday, the two Koreas plan to open a joint liaison office for both governments in the North Korean city of Kaesong, directly north of Seoul and just north of the Demilitarized Zone. It will be the first such government-to-government office established between the two capitals, which have no diplomatic relations, and which have previously relied heavily upon cumbersome and difficult-to-coordinate meetings at the truce village of Panmunjom.
Meanwhile, the recent maneuvers suggest that a pattern is emerging in North Korean-South Korean-US relations, with the South Koreans playing the role of brokers.
We have seen this before…
In the run-up to the historic June summit between Kim and Trump in Singapore, Trump abruptly canceled the planned meet on May 24, citing vitriolic statements in North Korean state media as the reason for his displeasure.
In response, an apparently shaken Kim held a surprise summit with Moon – their second – on May 26, where Kim made clear his good will and hopes for a meeting with Trump.
Partly thanks to the South Korean intermediary role, Washington took note of Pyongyang’s conciliatory stance, and the Singapore summit was put back on track. The historic meeting – the first ever between North Korean and US heads of state – took place on June 12 in Singapore.
But post-summit, and despite the excellent relations apparently struck up between Kim and Trump, relations deteriorated as denuclearization went nowhere. On Aug. 24, Trump canceled Secretary of State Mike Pompeo’s planned trip to Pyongyang, citing lack of progress on denuclearization.
Following that development, the South Korean envoys, led by National Security Adviser Chung Eui-yong, visited Pyongyang for discussions with Kim.
Upon their return, the envoys said that Kim had praised Trump – which generated a positive tweet from the latter. The flattery of the American leader, together with the positive letter – the contents of which have not been revealed – looks to have done the trick, with the result that a second North Korea-US summit appears to have got the go ahead.
It is a privilege to be a nuclear power. North Korea summons Trump for a meeting and Trump must respond immediately. North Korea must keep its nuclear arsenal and never give it up. The Korean Peninsula has not enjoyed such a peaceful atmosphere than since North Korea has set up its nuclear strike force at the end of 2017. No more threat like Fire and Fury, no more sending of a powerful armada and an even more powerful fleet of submarines. And when Pompeo last visited North Korea and acted like a gangster, North North simply declared Pompeo Persona Non Grata. Even the health and well-being of tens of millions Americans depend on the whim of North Korea. When North Korea decided not to display its ICBMs in its last military parade, all Americans breathed more easily. It would have been disastrous for the Americans if North Korea had displayed its ICBMs at the parade. Tens of millions Americans would have had a heart attack. Contrast this with the never-ending American threats and bombings endured by Syria. Contrast this with the bombing of Libya and its destruction by American, British and French bombers. All these because Syria and Libya do not have nuclear bombs and ICBMs.
I loathe Trump, but it’s embarrassing to see the President of the United States being manipulated so effortlessly by a leader whose regime represents the opposite of every value America claims to stand for. Especially when Trump keeps telling the world what a fine man Kim Jong Un is.
Just a show from the beginning… NK has Russia’s and China’s backing, why would Kim believe in any word out of the US mouth?
And what’s next? Do you think the US would allow that to happen?
Good news! John Bolton and Mike Pompeo will probably make obstacles, but a meeting would be good for the Rebublicans prior to the mid-term elections!
Sign of good times between US and NK. It might be a break from tightening noose around Trump in his domestic problems!
North and South Korea should go ahead on their own and sign a peace treaty.
flattery by kim for trump will not get him anyhting in the end. standing by trumps side is bolton and pompeo who are neocon warmongers and are not interested in any peace deal ,they want total capitulation of the north and surrender to the u s an become another vassal like so korea.