The U.S. Department of State has confirmed Secretary of State Mike Pompeo will visit Pyongyang this weekend. This time the visit to North Korea is part of a four-nation Asian trip that also includes Japan, South Korea and China.
In a news briefing at the State Department, Pompeo said that he was very happy with “another chance to continue to advance the commitment that Chairman Kim and President Trump made back in Singapore in the second week of June.”
According to the State Department, the top U.S. diplomat will begin a tour of Asia with a meeting with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Oct. 6. He will be in North Korea the following day for a meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un. He will be in Seoul later that day to share the outcome of his all-important meeting with Kim with the South Korean side in meetings with President Moon Jae-in and Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha. On Oct. 8, Pompeo will be in Beijing to meet with his Chinese counterparts to discuss regional issues.
Pompeo's latest visit to Pyongyang in July was fruitless as he returned home without meeting Kim. In August, his planned visit to Pyongyang, which would have been his fourth, was canceled by U.S. President Donald Trump amid a deadlock in denuclearization talks. So it is a good sign that this time, the North Korean leader will be meeting with Pompeo. The meeting could not have been arranged if there had not been some significant headway in bilateral negotiations on North Korea's denuclearization process and corresponding measures from the U.S.
During his fourth visit to Pyongyang, Pompeo has to carry out a grave mission for a breakthrough in bilateral nuclear negotiations. In a speech at the United Nations last month, North Korean Foreign Minsiter Ri Yong-ho complained about the continued sanctions and declared his country would never comply with unilateral demands for nuclear dismantlement under these circumstances. Pyongyang has also complained about the U.S. reluctance to agree to an end-of-war declaration.
It is rare for the U.S. secretary of state to make a tour of the four countries in such a short period. This raises speculation that the U.S. may be moving toward the end-of-war declaration with the relevant parties as part of a big deal with North Korea.
Kim has declared he would dismantle the Dongchanri and Yongbyon nuclear sites if the U.S. responds with corresponding measure. Pompeo should tell Kim the U.S. is ready to move toward declaration if Pyongyang delivers on more specific measures for denuclearization.