US, NK should swiftly resume nuclear talks
President Moon Jae-in met with U.S. Vice President Mike Pence, Thursday, on the sidelines of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) summits in Singapore.
The meeting came amid rising skepticism about North Korea's sincerity in regards to denuclearization, particularly after U.S. news reports of finding various "hidden" missile bases in North Korea, including the Sakkanmol base for short-range ballistic missiles located only 135 kilometers from Seoul. On Friday, media reports highlighted that North Korean leader Kim Jong-un observed the testing of a new "ultramodern tactical weapon."
This is the first time the North has publicly mentioned a weapon testing event attended by Kim since the Hwasong-15 intercontinental ballistic missile in late November 2017. Although it was not known exactly what kind of a weapon it was, any mention of weapon testing could negatively affect the ongoing U.S.-North Korea nuclear negotiations.
To quell the mounting skepticism over Pyongyang's denuclearization, both the U.S. and North Korea need to get back to the negotiating table as soon as possible. A meeting between U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Kim Yong-chol, vice chairman of the Central Committee of the North's ruling Workers' Party, had been scheduled for earlier this month in New York before the U.S. midterm elections but was scrapped at the last minute.
Since then, there has not been much headway in resuming bilateral talks to narrow their differences in nuclear negotiations. Washington has maintained a firm stance on maintaining sanctions against North Korea, but Pyongyang has stressed the importance of "corresponding steps" from the U.S., such as an end of war declaration and easing of sanctions.
Amid the protracted deadlock in U.S.-North Korea talks, it was timely for Moon to get together with Pence and discuss how to proceed with efforts to accomplish the two countries' mutual aim of Pyongyang's denuclearization. The meeting came amid rising concerns about a rift in the Korea-U.S. alliance due to Seoul's rush for economic cooperation with Pyongyang.
Moon has also reiterated the need to ease sanctions on North Korea in various diplomatic settings recently. In a statement after the meeting, the White House said that the two countries noted the "importance of close coordination on North Korea-related matters, including on implementing sanctions and inter-Korean cooperation."
Pence asked for the South to play a bigger role as a mediator in nuclear negotiations. For this, it is important for Moon to adjust the pace of the economic projects with North Korea and maintain the priority on denuclearization.
The Moon-Pence meeting was also useful in that it showed the continued momentum for more talks between the leaders of the U.S. and North Korea. After the talks with Moon, Pence mentioned the possibility of a second meeting between U.S. President Donald Trump and Kim sometime after Jan. 1, 2019. Trump also showed his optimism on North Korea in his latest Twitter message where he said the U.S. was fully aware about the missile sites that had emerged in some media reports and brushed it off as "fake news."
The U.S. and North Korea should resume high-level talks at an early date and set the right conditions for the second Trump-Kim meeting where the two countries should take firm steps to ensure North Korea's denuclearization.
President Moon Jae-in met with U.S. Vice President Mike Pence, Thursday, on the sidelines of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) summits in Singapore.
The meeting came amid rising skepticism about North Korea's sincerity in regards to denuclearization, particularly after U.S. news reports of finding various "hidden" missile bases in North Korea, including the Sakkanmol base for short-range ballistic missiles located only 135 kilometers from Seoul. On Friday, media reports highlighted that North Korean leader Kim Jong-un observed the testing of a new "ultramodern tactical weapon."
This is the first time the North has publicly mentioned a weapon testing event attended by Kim since the Hwasong-15 intercontinental ballistic missile in late November 2017. Although it was not known exactly what kind of a weapon it was, any mention of weapon testing could negatively affect the ongoing U.S.-North Korea nuclear negotiations.
To quell the mounting skepticism over Pyongyang's denuclearization, both the U.S. and North Korea need to get back to the negotiating table as soon as possible. A meeting between U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Kim Yong-chol, vice chairman of the Central Committee of the North's ruling Workers' Party, had been scheduled for earlier this month in New York before the U.S. midterm elections but was scrapped at the last minute.
Since then, there has not been much headway in resuming bilateral talks to narrow their differences in nuclear negotiations. Washington has maintained a firm stance on maintaining sanctions against North Korea, but Pyongyang has stressed the importance of "corresponding steps" from the U.S., such as an end of war declaration and easing of sanctions.
Amid the protracted deadlock in U.S.-North Korea talks, it was timely for Moon to get together with Pence and discuss how to proceed with efforts to accomplish the two countries' mutual aim of Pyongyang's denuclearization. The meeting came amid rising concerns about a rift in the Korea-U.S. alliance due to Seoul's rush for economic cooperation with Pyongyang.
Moon has also reiterated the need to ease sanctions on North Korea in various diplomatic settings recently. In a statement after the meeting, the White House said that the two countries noted the "importance of close coordination on North Korea-related matters, including on implementing sanctions and inter-Korean cooperation."
Pence asked for the South to play a bigger role as a mediator in nuclear negotiations. For this, it is important for Moon to adjust the pace of the economic projects with North Korea and maintain the priority on denuclearization.
The Moon-Pence meeting was also useful in that it showed the continued momentum for more talks between the leaders of the U.S. and North Korea. After the talks with Moon, Pence mentioned the possibility of a second meeting between U.S. President Donald Trump and Kim sometime after Jan. 1, 2019. Trump also showed his optimism on North Korea in his latest Twitter message where he said the U.S. was fully aware about the missile sites that had emerged in some media reports and brushed it off as "fake news."
The U.S. and North Korea should resume high-level talks at an early date and set the right conditions for the second Trump-Kim meeting where the two countries should take firm steps to ensure North Korea's denuclearization.
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