Speculation is mounting over the chances of a fourth meeting between US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, as the rhetoric of the two sides has recently suggested an openness to reengagement.
Experts noted that the two sides might have already begun testing the waters for a possible meeting of Trump and Kim, for the first time after meetings in 2018 and 2019 under Trump's first administration.
In the latest remark, an official of the US Department of State acknowledged Thursday that Washington "note(d) with interest" a statement on July 29 by Kim Yo-jong, a powerful sister of the North Korean leader.
In the statement, Kim Yo-jong rebuffed talk of North Korea's denuclearization but said the personal relationship between the two leaders was "not bad" ― an apparent hint at an openness to dialogue.
Seth Bailey, acting deputy assistant secretary in the bureau of East Asian and Pacific affairs of the US State Department, said Washington "(has) seen high-level statements from the DPRK leadership, including recent statements from Kim Yo-jong, which we note with interest," during an annual government briefing hosted by the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency in Arlington, Virginia.
DPRK stands for the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, or the North's official name.
Bailey also hinted that the groundbreaking joint statement between Trump and Kim in 2018 would serve as a cornerstone for any advancement in the two countries' relationship.
Bailey said that efforts to recover the remains of US service members who were killed or went missing during the Korean War "features so prominently as an important pillar of President Trump's joint statement with the DPRK at the Singapore summit in June of 2018."
Bailey's invocation of the 2018 Singapore summit, which enshrined the two leaders' commitment to a complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula, came ahead of Trump's message to mark the National Korean War Veterans Armistice Day in late July.
There, Trump wrote that he "maintained a maximum pressure campaign and enforced sanctions on North Korea to negotiate denuclearization" during his term from 2017 to 2021.
These statements point to a sharp difference in position with Kim Yo-jong's statement on July 29, which rejected denuclearization talks.
Prelude to negotiation
Experts said that the two sides appeared already engaged in a tug-of-war before entering the next stage of negotiations, while indirectly expressing willingness to engage in talks.
“The two sides have already begun exploring what their counterparts are looking for,” said Park Won-gon, professor of North Korean Studies at Ewha Womans University. “They have already begun tussling over who would take the upper hand, or who would control the negotiation agenda.”
While the Trump administration has been consistent in its message to North Korea in terms of pushing for denuclearization, Park claimed that the US' recent adjustment to the joint Ulchi Freedom Shield exercise on the other hand might be a gesture for talks "from a bigger picture."
"From North Korea's perspective, joint training and deployment of strategic assets could also be conditions for dialogue between North Korea and the United States," Park said.
Another expert said that Kim Yo-jong's statement could be construed as North Korea's indirect show of interest in talks with the United States without losing control of the negotiations.
“It’s like throwing jabs in a boxing match,” said Kim Yong-hyun, professor of North Korean Studies at Dongguk University. “There's now a bit of mutual interest in dialogue, and it seems like (the two sides) are now working to find some momentum (for dialogue).”
Experts also noted that support for the upcoming talks between Trump and Kim could be announced at Lee's forthcoming trip to the White House, which Trump announced would take place before mid-August but is still speculated to be occurring in the final week of August, albeit not suggesting a concrete blueprint for the Trump-Kim summit.
Dongguk University professor Kim said Lee might express an anticipation that Trump would swiftly re-engage with Kim, in line with Lee's steps to ease tensions on the Korean Peninsula through the South's removal of propaganda loudspeakers on the border.
Park of Ewha Woman's University said the issues on the Korean Peninsula could be addressed during the upcoming summit, possibly by revisiting what is enshrined in the 2018 Singapore joint statement for the peninsula's complete denuclearization.
"Trump will continue to regard the Singapore agreement as one of his accomplishments," Park said.
consnow@heraldcorp.com
