NK, US will soon begin drafting summit statement: NIS chief

National Intelligence Service director Suh Hoon attends a meeting with the National Assembly's intelligence committee, Tuesday. / Yonhap

By Kim Bo-eun

North Korea and the United States are expected to hold follow-up talks soon to begin drafting a joint statement to be adopted at the second summit between their leaders, according to South Korea's intelligence agency, Tuesday.

During a meeting with the National Assembly Intelligence Committee, Suh Hoon, director of the National Intelligence Service, said he expects the countries to engage in security and protocol preparations for the summit, and fine-tune the drafting of a joint statement, according to lawmakers who participated.

Regarding North Korea's top official Kim Yong-chol's meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump in Washington earlier this month, he said there was “a wide range of discussions in a favorable atmosphere.”

He was quoted as saying both expressed “considerable satisfaction” with the talks. “So denuclearization talks are expected to make progress, considering working-level talks are underway,” he added.

Working-level talks between North Korea and the U.S. on the former's nuclear disarmament are set to continue, with about a month left until a summit between President Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, which is expected to be held in late February or early March in Vietnam.

“Based on such statements, we can presume there has been progress in working-level dialogue,” said Park Won-gon, a professor at Handong Global University.

The temporary end to the U.S. government shutdown is also seen as facilitating the process.

“It appears circumstances have been created, following the end to the U.S. government shutdown, for related departments and White House officials to start moving,” said Yang Moo-jin, a professor at the University of North Korean Studies in Seoul.

Considering U.S. nuclear envoy Stephen Biegun has a new North Korean counterpart, it is expected that they will meet soon for necessary negotiations ahead of the summit.

The North's Kim Hyok-chol, its former ambassador to Spain, seems to have replaced Vice Foreign Minister Choe Son-hui for talks with Biegun. Choe and Biegun discussed North Korea's denuclearization measures and corresponding actions from the U.S. in Sweden last week.

North Korea is expected to be on a tight schedule, with events such as the celebration of former leader Kim Jong-il's birthday Feb. 16.

However, there is a possibility the second summit could be held later than expected after U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said recently it could be held “within 60 days.”

Park said the joint statement for the second summit “could outline North Korea's denuclearization steps such as verifying the dismantlement of its Punggye-ri and Tongchang-ri nuclear and missile testing sites, and the shutdown of its Yongbyon nuclear facility.”

Corresponding measures from the U.S. may be less detailed, such as “a review of easing economic sanctions on the North,” he said. Other steps could be opening a U.S. contact office in Pyongyang and establishing a setting for talks on achieving peace on the Korean Peninsula, Park said.

He stressed the joint statement needs to carry concrete wording on North Korea dismantling its key Yongbyon nuclear facility and disabling intercontinental ballistic missiles, and the means to verify this.