Kim Jong-un may issue a statement…Denuclearization talks at a crossroads

Mar 18, 2019, 09:01 am

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U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un greet with a handshake at the beginning of their second summit on February 27 in Hanoi, Vietnam. / Photographed by Jung Jae-hoon

By AsiaToday reporter Heo Go-woon

The United States and North Korea have been in a power struggle since the breakdown of the Hanoi summit. North Korea hinted that Kim Jong-un would make an official statement, which could be a critical factor in denuclearization negotiations, but many believe it won’t end negotiations with the U.S..

North Korean Vice Foreign Minister Choe Son-hui urgently held a press conference on Friday and said North Korean leader Kim Jong-un will soon decide whether to continue dialogue as well as his moratorium on missile launches and nuclear test since the United States did not take measures that are corresponding to the changes it had taken, including the 15-month moratorium on launches and tests.

Choe said Trump was more willing to talk and that Kim Jong-un and Trump had a “mysteriously wonderful” chemistry. It is a statement urging Trump to make a commitment with his “top-down” approach to meet the North’s demands.

The United States is responding cautiously. U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Choe “left the possibility that negotiations would continue for sure.” Trump, who has been making comments straightforward on Twitter, did not leave any special comments about it.

“Both sides have expressed an intention to keep talking to each other despite the collapse of the summit in Hanoi,” a high-ranking official of the presidential Cheong Wa Dae said Sunday. “Just from Choe’s briefing, you can tell that the North did not make any comments on resuming the negotiations at all.”

“The United States is making clear that it will continue to negotiate with the North. Secretary Pompeo and U.S. National Security Adviser John Bolton will soon express their views,” said Shin Beom-chul, a senior fellow at the Asan Institute for Policy Studies in Seoul.

◇ North Korea denied, but Moon Jae-in’s role as a mediator has become more important

North Korea is expected to use “Kim Jong-un statement” strategy once the United States make its position clear. Experts predicted that Kim could issue his statement within this month, or possibly in April when the Supreme People’s Assembly and a plenary meeting of the Central Committee of the Workers’ Party are scheduled.

“If Trump delivers a strong message, Kim may come forward, too,” said Moon Sung-mook, a senior researcher at the Korea Research Institute for National Strategy in Seoul. “We cannot rule the possibility of the North using a card to gain further U.S. concessions, such as launching a satellite,” Moon said.

“However, the North won’t cross the line unless the United States spoils the mood because ending negotiations is too much pressure for the North,” Moon added. 38 North, a website specializing in North Korea studies, said Friday there were no signs of unusual movements in North Korea’s Yongbyon nuclear facilities and Punggye-ri nuclear test site.

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