Bo-eun leads the digital content team. She has covered foreign affairs, North Korea, tech, economy and gender issues at The Korea Times. She did a short stint at the South China Morning Post in Hong Kong, where she obtained a new perspective on news production and life. Small sources of joy for her are lounging in the sun, having a good latte and swimming.
Will summit render progress in North Korea nuke talks?
By Kim Bo-eun
Increasing weight is being placed on the summit between the leaders of the Koreas, as the meeting comes amid stalled denuclearization talks between North Korea and the U.S.
With denuclearization on the agenda of the summit, attention is growing over whether President Moon Jae-in will be able to elicit a pledge from North Korean leader Kim Jong-un that will lead to progress.
The summit comes after denuclearization talks were stalled for weeks due to differences between Pyongyang and Washington over who would take the first step. North Korea has been calling for the U.S. to declare an end to the 1950-53 Korean War as a means to protect its regime, while the U.S. has been requiring North Korea to take denuclearization measures first.
Moon's role as mediator in the talks is weighing in.
“We hope the President will play a considerable role in mediating and facilitating talks between North Korea and the U.S.” presidential chief of staff Im Jong-seok, who is also chief of the summit preparation committee, said in a media briefing, Monday.
At the same time, Im stated it is difficult to have an optimistic outlook.
It appears to be Moon's plan to discuss denuclearization with the North Korean leader, and then with U.S. President Donald Trump on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York later this month, before Kim and Trump meet for their second summit so that they can discuss ending the Korean War.
“The characteristic of the summit this time is that the UN General Assembly in New York will take place afterward. We are expecting President Moon will hold a bilateral summit with President Trump,” Im said.
Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha is being included in Moon's entourage due to the weight of the denuclearization agenda in talks between the leaders.
This is the first time for a South Korean foreign minister to visit Pyongyang _ former summits in 2000 and 2007 were centered on developing inter-Korean relations.
Before leaving for Pyongyang, Kang held a phone call with her U.S. counterpart Mike Pompeo, to brief him on the preparations for the inter-Korean summit.
Handong Global University professor Park Won-gon said, “Hopes are to elicit a pledge from North Korea, but this will not be easy.”
“North Korea may promise to report its nuclear inventory, for declaring an end to the Korean War, and then draw up a taskforce to report its nuclear inventory,” he said.
“The U.S. stance remains firm in that North Korea needs to take a denuclearization measure first.”
Donnguk University professor Koh Yu-hwan said, “Deals on denuclearization will be reached between North Korea and the U.S., but the North Korean leader may state the regime's desire to denuclearize (in the inter-Korean summit).”
“The North Korean leader expressed his desire for denuclearization in his meeting with South Korean envoys, but if he were to state his intentions to denuclearize the regime publicly at the summit, this will be a significant trust-building measure,” he said.
Kim Jong-un told South Korean envoys who visited Pyongyang earlier this month about his determination for the regime to denuclearize.