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Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi

On May 23, the day after a summit between South Korean President Moon Jae-in and US President Donald Trump, the top diplomats from China and Japan will be simultaneously visiting Washington to coordinate their positions on the North Korea-US summit.

With North Korea and the US facing a deadlock in their preliminary deliberations about the summit, which is scheduled to take place in Singapore on June 12, South Korea, the US, China and Japan are moving into overdrive, suggesting that this week may prove to be a watershed moment that can offer insight into future developments.

“Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi will be visiting Washington on May 23 to discuss pressing issues with their US counterparts. The biggest issue is denuclearization at the North Korea-US summit,” said a diplomatic source in Washington, DC, who spoke on condition of anonymity on May 20.

Wang is expected to suggest a compromise between North Korea, which is calling for a “step-by-step, simultaneous” denuclearization solution, and the US, which is demanding swift, bold, and preemptive denuclearization measures. China’s solution was described by one source as a “swift step-by-step and simultaneous solution” incorporating both sides’ demands – sending the message that while the date of denuclearization may be moved up, it must coincide with corresponding measures based on an “action for action” principle.

On the matter of Pyongyang’s calls for a “step-by-step, simultaneous” solution, Wang stressed after a meeting early last month with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov that “each country must assume corresponding responsibility and fulfill its responsibilities at each stage,” adding that this was the “only way to ensure the peace process continues and guarantee that dialogue is not halted.”

Wang is also expected to attempt to clear up Washington’s misunderstandings after Trump’s recent remarks suggesting Beijing may have been behind Pyongyang’s change in stance.

Japanese Foreign Minister Taro Kono also appears set to hold discussions on May 23 with US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo regarding the North Korea-US summit. Kono had originally planned to visit other South American countries after attending a G20 foreign ministers’ meeting in Argentina on May 21, but changed his schedule, the Kyodo news agency reported.

Observers are watching Kono’s US visit to see how firmly Tokyo sticks to its position that the North Korea-US summit agenda should include biological and chemical weapons, all ballistic missiles, and the issue of abducted Japanese nationals. Japan has consistently called for the agenda to be broadened – which has been a major reason for the deadlock in preliminary talks between Pyongyang and Washington. During a May 20 speech in Brazil, Kono stressed that pressure should be kept up until Pyongyang takes concrete action.

“[We] must not make a mistake on the timing of easing sanctions,” he said at the time.

By Yi Yong-in, Washington correspondent, Cho Ki-weon, Tokyo correspondent, and Kim Oi-hyun, Beijing correspondent

Please direct comments or questions to [english@hani.co.kr]