U.S. President Donald Trump's decision to cancel Secretary of State Mike Pompeo's planned visit to North Korea is somewhat disappointing, but not surprising. The cancellation reflects growing skepticism about the North's real intention of denuclearization.
Trump cited two reasons for his abrupt decision. The first reason is lack of progress in the North's denuclearization. The second is China's inaction to help with the denuclearization process partly due to escalating trade disputes between Washington and Beijing.
As some experts point out, Trump seems to have done the right thing. He apparently does not want Pompeo to come back empty-handed again following his third visit to Pyongyang early last month. So Trump's hardheaded action is sending a clear message to the Kim Jong-un regime: The North should make substantial progress in denuclearizing.
In other words, Trump has made it clear that the U.S. will not hold a dialogue with the North for the sake of dialogue. This is his expression of dissatisfaction with the slow pace of ongoing negotiations with Pyongyang. The nuclear talks have reached an impasse since Trump and Kim agreed on a vague commitment to the “denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula” at their historic summit in Singapore in June.
The ongoing talks have been deadlocked not least because Pyongyang demanded Washington declare an end to the 1950-53 Korean War, which finished with not a peace treaty but an armistice. The Trump administration has turned down the demand, saying the North should first make meaningful steps toward denuclearization.
The North is also seeking sanctions relief, while the U.S. wants sanctions to remain firmly in place until the North gives up its nuclear and missile programs.
Against this backdrop, Pompeo was supposed to visit Pyongyang this week to revive the stalled negotiations. But his trip was put on hold. It is not clear if and when the U.S. will put Pompeo's delayed visit back on track, although Trump said the secretary of state looked forward to going to the North in the near future.
Trump might want to put pressure on Pyongyang to make a sincere effort toward denuclearization. But considering a report by the International Atomic Energy Agency that the North's nuclear weapons program and ballistic missile development program remain intact, no one knows if the North will start the denuclearization process in good faith.
In this regard, the cancellation of Pompeo's visit is feared to have negative implications on denuclearization talks. It could also negatively affect President Moon Jae-in's bid to open a liaison office in Gaeseong and his push for the early declaration of an end to the Korean War, possibly during the U.N. General Assembly session next month.
It is imperative to keep the momentum of dialogue between the U.S. and the North alive. Moon is scheduled to visit Pyongyang next month. We hope his trip will lead to a breakthrough in denuclearization talks and the peace process on the peninsula. More than anything else, Seoul and Washington must work together more closely to achieve this shared goal.