Biegun may visit Panmungak for 'undisclosed meeting' with NK

In this file photo taken on February 9, 2019, US Special Representative for North Korea Stephen Biegun listens to South Korea's Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha during their meeting at the foreign ministry in Seoul. AP-Yonhap

By Do Je-hae, Kim Yoo-chul

U.S. Special Representative for North Korea Stephen Biegun may visit the North Korean side of the Joint Security Area early next week, for a meeting with a high-level North Korean official, sources familiar with the issue told The Korea Times, Wednesday.

“Biegun plans to visit South Korea later this week or early next week, after attending a meeting of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) in New York. Talks are underway for Biegun to possibly meet with a high-level North Korean diplomat on the North's side of the border village of Panmunjeom,” a senior lawmaker from the ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) said.

Washington confirmed the upcoming UNSC meeting will focus on what North Korea claimed was “a very important test” at its rocket and missile, testing and launch facility in Dongchang-ri. The meeting had originally been intended to cover human rights issues in the North.

“It's uncertain whether or not Biegun will deliver a handwritten letter from U.S. President Donald Trump to North Korean leader Kim Jong-un if he meets with a senior North Korean official. But it is clear that Washington doesn't want to see any backtracking in the denuclearization talks,” the lawmaker said.

With the North Korea-set deadline for a possible end to denuclearization diplomacy fast approaching, the two countries are apparently trying to keep the dialogue going, according to sources at Cheong Wa Dae.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs did not specify a timeline for Biegun's trip during a regular briefing, Tuesday. Recent reports said Washington and Seoul are arranging for him to arrive around Dec. 15. White House National Security adviser Robert O'Brien is also expected to come to Korea soon. Biegun's visit is drawing attention as to whether it will be an opportunity for a dramatic turnaround in the deadlocked denuclearization negotiations between the U.S. and North Korea.

His trip a year ago on Dec. 20, 2018, did provide a shift in the two countries' relations that were also strained at the time. Kim sent Trump a letter that resulted in the second U.S.-North Korea summit in Hanoi in February.

Kyodo News in Japan has also reported that Biegun will meet a North Korean official at Panmunjeom, possibly his North Korean counterpart First Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs Choe Son-hui.

There is speculation on what role Seoul Korea can play to facilitate talks between Washington and North Korea. NSO chief Chung Eui-yong, who has been the President's key messenger to the North, reportedly visited Panmunjeom recently, according to sources. Cheong Wa Dae declined to confirm whether or not the visit took place when contacted by The Korea Times.

Presidential spokeswoman Ko Min-jung also declined to reply to questions on Chung's possible visit to Panmunjeom and whether he has plans to talk with North Korean officials in the near future.

President Moon has kept silent about the North's latest “weapons” test and did not hold a National Security Council meeting following the news, Sunday. “We recognize that the current situation in North Korea and the situation on the Korean Peninsula is serious,” a presidential aide said Wednesday.

Moon has continued to be hopeful about a third U.S.-North Korea summit, which he believes will “surely result in an outcome.”