Trump, Kim may agree on opening liaison offices

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un visits the regime's embassy in Hanoi, Tuesday, as part of his official schedule in Vietnam. Kim is there for a two-day summit from Wednesday with U.S. President Donald Trump. Korea Times photo by Choi Won-suk

By Lee Min-hyung

HANOI ― Expectations are high that U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un will reach an agreement to open liaison offices in Washington and Pyongyang during their second summit as the first step in establishing bilateral diplomatic relations.

The need to establish the offices has surfaced in recent months, after the two failed to make progress in denuclearization talks due in part to the lack of a direct and real-time communication channel.

This has raised the possibility for Trump and Kim to reach a consensus in opening the offices during their two-day summit in Hanoi, Vietnam, which ends today.

Once joint liaison offices are established, they will serve as de facto embassies. Even if they hold limited authority compared to actual diplomatic missions, their opening will be the first step in building normal diplomatic relations.

North Korea has a dire need to normalize ties with the U.S. at a time when the regime is seeking to attract foreign investment to realize its vision of economic prosperity. For the U.S., the offices will also play a crucial role to continue driving the North's nuclear disarmament.

An announcement on the establishment of the offices could be made today when the two leaders are expected to sign the Hanoi Declaration that will outline a series of steps for trust-building and denuclearization.

Observers say the opening of liaison offices would be one of the most effective measures for both sides to end their decades-long hostility and move forward the stalled momentum on disarmament negotiations.

“It is likely the U.S. will offer to establish the liaison offices for sustainable communication with the North, as part of a corresponding step in exchange for the North's denuclearization,” said Kim Sang-ki, a director of unification policy unit at the Korea Institute for National Unification.

“Washington may also provide partial sanctions relief or humanitarian support to the North during the upcoming summit,” the expert said. “Aside from the establishment of the liaison offices, Washington can also play other negotiating chips in return for the level of denuclearization pledges from Pyongyang.”

Vietnam can also be a good exemplary case for the North to follow.

Bilateral relations between the U.S. and Vietnam have improved rapidly since February 1995 when both sides established liaison offices in each other's capitals. Only about six months later, they built embassies and normalized diplomatic ties.

During the first summit between Trump and Kim, both sides agreed to build a “new relationship” for mutual peace and prosperity. But the agreement did not come with any details specifying ways to reach this goal.

For this reason, the two leaders are likely to focus on coming to specific terms during the Hanoi summit.