ED Moon in tough spot
Seoul seeks breakthrough in stalled denuclearization talks
President Moon Jae-in's special envoy will be in Pyongyang this week to discuss a range of issues, including another inter-Korean summit planned for this month. During a press briefing Friday, Cheong Wa Dae spokesman Kim Eui-kyeom said Pyongyang had accepted a proposal from President Moon to send an envoy to the North. The delegation is expected to travel to Pyongyang, Wednesday, and return on the same day.
The last time Moon sent an envoy to Pyongyang was March 5, soon after the PyeongChang Winter Olympic Games ended. The delegation led by Chung Eui-yong, Moon's national security adviser, had agreed to hold an inter-Korean summit at the end of April, which became the impetus for the June 12 U.S.-North Korea summit in Singapore.
Chung will be leading a five-member delegation again, according to Cheong Wa Dae Sunday. This time, the most important task of the presidential envoy to North Korea is to settle details of the third summit between Moon and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un. The two Koreas agreed during high-level talks on Aug. 13 to hold another summit to build on the previous two summits in April and May. The envoy will also discuss other issues related to improving inter-Korean ties and making progress toward peace on the Korean Peninsula.
The envoy's visit to Pyongyang comes amid a deadlock in U.S.-North Korea denuclearization talks. The U.S. recently cancelled Secretary of State Mike Pompeo's planned visit to Pyongyang after a hostile message from his counterpart Kim Yong-chol, vice chairman of North Korea's ruling Workers' Party Central Committee.
Following the cancellation of what would have been Pompeo's fourth visit to Pyongyang, a White House statement said President Trump could "instantly start the joint exercises again with South Korea, and Japan, if he so chooses. If he does, they will be far bigger than ever before."
Concerns are mounting that the U.S.-North Korea denuclearization talks are on the brink of falling apart and that bilateral relations could return to the way they were before the June 12 summit in Singapore. During the summit, the leaders of the U.S. and North Korea agreed to work toward North Korea's complete denuclearization. But since then, not much headway has been made with regard to the North's disarmament and the two sides have maintained their focus on different priorities. Under these circumstances, hopes are growing that Moon will be an effective mediator between Washington and Pyongyang.
During the next summit, Moon should encourage Kim to uphold his commitment to denuclearization and make more concrete steps to end the North's missile and nuclear development.