2nd NK-US summit may take place before US mid-term election

By Lee Min-hyung

With Washington and Pyongyang agreeing to hold a second U.S.-North Korea summit at the earliest date possible, expectations are that it will take place sometime before the U.S. mid-term election which falls Nov. 6.

In a meeting with President Moon Jae-in late Sunday at Cheong Wa Dae, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said that North Korean leader Kim Jong-un agreed to meet with U.S. President Donald Trump at a summit that “should be held as soon as possible,” according to a written brief issued by Moon's chief press secretary Yoon Young-chan.

But there was no mention of a specific time or even location for the second summit.

Political analysts in Seoul argue the second Washington-Pyongyang summit may take place earlier than expected in consideration of Pompeo's agreement with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un about holding it “as soon as possible.”

“My view is that leaders from the two countries can meet in the very near future, possibly before the U.S. election, as Pompeo is likely to have had an in-depth discussion with Kim on the timeline of the North's denuclearization steps ― such as abolishing its nuclear and missile facilities,” Kim Sang-ki, director of the policy division at the Korea Institute for National Unification, said Monday.

On top of that, Washington and Pyongyang have expressed their strong determination to resume dialogue, and at the moment, there is nothing to block the peace momentum, according to Kim Sang-ki.

The United States and North Korea have in recent months failed to make substantial progress in taking steps toward the North's nuclear disarmament since the leaders from the two sides met for the first time in Singapore this June.

Pompeo's meeting with the North Korean leader made headlines Monday at the regime's propaganda media outlet.

“Both sides reaffirmed their strong desire and determination to make big progress in achieving bilateral goals surrounding the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula during the planned second Pyongyang-Washington summit,” the Rodong Sinmun quoted Kim as saying during his meeting with Pompeo.

The state-controlled newspaper went on to speak highly of the meeting, saying Kim Jong-un and Pompeo also exchanged expectations and concerns in detail over the ongoing denuclearization talks.

“Kim said both sides will soon come up with plans to hold the second summit between the North and the U.S.,” it said.