hankyoreh

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo shakes hands with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un in Pyongyang. Pompeo took his first visit to Pyongyang (left) during Easter weekend (Mar. 31-Apr.1). He visited Pyongyang again on May 9 for his second meeting with Kim. (Korean Central News Agency)

Optimistic predictions for the upcoming North Korea-US summit are reemerging following a second “surprise meeting” on May 9 between North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo. Signals from both sides have been positive since the encounter, leading some to speculate they may have significantly bridged differences over the summit’s schedule, venue, and key agenda.

To begin with, North Korea gave its first official internal confirmation that the summit is in the works. The front page of the May 10 edition of the Rodong Sinmun, the newspaper of the Workers’ Party Central Committee, included a report on Kim’s meeting with Pompeo along with eight photographs.

“[Secretary Pompeo] visited to prepare for the North Korea-US summit,” the report said – the first reference to the summit yet in the North Korean media.

The Rodong Sinmun also reported Kim as saying, “The coming North Korea-US meeting and summit will be a historic encounter that drives positive political developments for the Korean Peninsula and marks a wonderful start toward building a wonderful future.”

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un speaks with US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and his aide on May 9 in Pyongyang. (Korean Central News Agency/Yonhap News)

“Having heard the message reported from [US President Donald] Trump, I praised the President and showed my respect for his profound interest in resolving issues through dialogue,” Kim was also quoted as saying.

Korean Central Television (KCTV) reported Kim as saying Trump “has a new alternative” and expressing his “praise and respect” for Trump’s “proactive attitude toward the North Korea-US summit.” With Kim referring for the first time to a “new alternative,” many are now questioning what he may have meant by it.

In particular, the Rodong Sinmun reported Kim and Pompeo’s meeting included “deep discussions on practical issues for the North Korea-US summit and the corresponding procedures and methods,” adding that Kim had “indicated satisfactory agreement on the issues discussed with the United States Secretary of State.” The report could be seen as implying that the summit’s date and venue were decided and the agenda coordinated in broad terms. The newspaper’s prominent coverage of the release of three US detainees also offers an indication of currents in the North.

Assessments were generally consistent with the remarks of a senior South Korean government official, who said the two sides “seem to have significantly bridged their differences, with much discussion on the [summit] agenda.” Returning from the meeting, Pompeo said of his meeting with Kim the day before that the two sides had “had a chance to talk substantively about [. . . ] how we’re going to begin to coordinate [. . .] in a way that [. . .] will set the conditions for a successful meeting between the two leaders.”

“I think we are having good conversations, productive conversations,” he added.

Trump was optimistic while presiding over a Cabinet meeting at the White House the same day.

“I think it’ll be very successful,” he said of the summit.

Even Secretary of Defense James Mattis – noted for his caution – was optimistic about the prospects for the summit and denuclearization talks, saying the same day that there was “reason for some optimism that these talks could be fruitful.”

But in terms of the “satisfactory agreement” purportedly achieved between Kim and Pompeo, experts said the two could have discussed a range of possibilities from a halt to the deployment of US strategic nuclear assets in exchange for the North’s denuclearization to the lifting of economic sanctions.

“I suspect there was some exchange with regard to active [US] guarantees on [North Korean] regime security [as North Korea denuclearization],” University of North Korean Studies professor Koo Kab-woo said.

“It looks like it could have been anything from concrete military measures such as a ban on the deployment of strategic nuclear assets on the Korean Peninsula to talk of a peace agreement and diplomatic relations between the North and the US,” he added.

Handong Global University professor Kim Joon-hyun said the two “appear to have reached an agreement on the broader road map, if not the finer details.”

“I suspect they discussed something along the lines of lifting sanctions once North Korea’s nuclear inspections – inspections of its current nuclear program – are complete, or exchanging CVID [complete, verifiable, and irreversible dismantlement] for CVIG [complete, verifiable, and irreversible guarantees on regime security] by May 2020,” Kim suggested.

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un speaks with US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and his aide on May 9 in Pyongyang. (Korean Central News Agency/Yonhap News)

A high-ranking South Korean official in the area of foreign affairs and national security expressed a somewhat cautious stance.

“The North Korea-US summit is a ‘big game’ without any precedents, and the decisions and negotiations by the top leadership are going to be crucial,” the official said. “There are still a lot of hurdles to clear.”

By Noh Ji-won and Kim Ji-eun, staff reporters

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