Seoul pushing inter-Korean projects as summit agenda
President Moon Jae-in enters room inside Cheong Wa Dae for luncheon with seniors who fought for democracy during the “Gwangju uprising” happened during the military rule in early 1980, Wednesday. Yonhap
By Kim Yoo-chul
By Kim Yoo-chul
South Korea is pushing hard to get an early resumption of joint inter-Korean economic projects recognized as a key issue to be dealt with when U.S. President Donald Trump meets North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, in Vietnam, next week.
Expectations are high here about a possible consensus between the leaders about the cross border projects after Moon spoke with Trump via telephone, late Tuesday (KST).
Moon asked Trump to offer the projects as “incentives” for the North to speed up its denuclearization process, “widely and verifiably,” according to Cheong Wa Dae.
Presidential spokesman Kim Eui-kyeom said Moon “directly stated” that “if President Trump asks, South Korea will be ready to do its part, lessening the United States' burden.”
On Wednesday, Cheong Wa Dae officials said Washington was “studying and reviewing possible scenarios” in which Trump could offer reciprocal steps to the North for nuclear disarmament steps.
“Given Trump's recent remarks on North Korea, it's unlikely the United States will extend sanctions because both Trump and Kim are under pressure to produce a detailed and unambiguous agreement this time unlike the statement they made in Singapore, last year, which has only seen little and negligible progress. Seoul is ready to reboot inter-Korean exchanges with an early resumption of joint economic projects,” an official at the presidential office said.
Kim Jong-dae of the minor opposition Justice Party, a member of the National Assembly Defense Committee, said the United States agreed “in principle” with North Korea over the latter's roadmap to dismantle its nuclear program.
“The key point is Washington has begun considering multiple levels of incentives depending on the North's steps toward dismantling its nuclear facilities. My understanding is that President Moon unofficially delivered a message to both Trump and Kim on why an early resumption of inter-Korean business projects should matter, and how these incentives may actually work,” he told The Korea Times.
Among possible incentives that Washington could offer, the United States is reviewing dispatching U.S. officials to Pyongyang to open a liaison office, and declaring an end to the 1950-1953 Korean War as visible measures for trust-building.
U.S. President Donald Trump speaks to the media before signing Space Policy Directive - 4 (SPD-4), in the Oval Office at the White House in Washington, D.C. Feb. 19. AP-Yonhap
North Korea's top priority is the easing of economic sanctions; however, the United States remains reluctant to lessen the level of economic pressure as U.S. intelligence officials and Washington pundits think doing so could weaken the “most-powerful leverage” it has to force the regime to drop its nuclear programs.
“An easing of economic pressure on North Korea specifically at the international level is unlikely in the foreseeable future because the North has to show the international community, first, that the denuclearization process is being controlled, properly and smoothly. An early resumption of inter-Korean projects will be a good sidestep measure to satisfy the North and help the United States claim diplomatic wins” Yang Moo-jin, a South Korean analyst at the University of North Korean Studies in Seoul, said.
The Korea Times was the first to report North Korea had “in principle” agreed with the United States to allow International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) officials to monitor its nuclear dismantlement process and guarantee their security.
U.S. State Department spokesman Robert Palladino told a news briefing early Wednesday (KST) that the United States has been clear on sanctions. “These are the world's sanctions and that is something that … will continue to be maintained until we've achieved our final result of a fully, finally, verified denuclearization.”
But, he added: “I am not going to get ahead of diplomatic conversations, or ahead of the president. A lot of things are being discussed and we are very much looking forward to next week.”
With just days to go before the U.S.-North Korea summit is held in the Vietnamese capital, Washington and Pyongyang officials plan to meet there to narrow their differences and negotiate a potential deal.