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South Korean President Moon Jae-in speaks with US President Donald Trump during their summit on May 22 at the Oval Office in the White House. (Blue House photo pool)

Following the summit between South Korean President Moon Jae-in and US President Donald Trump in Washington on May 22, momentum has been restored to preparations for the North Korea-US summit (scheduled for Singapore on June 12), which had run into trouble after the North mentioned the possibility of “reconsidering” the summit.

The first thing to note is a Washington Post report published shortly after the summit claiming that a White House team of negotiators preparing for the summit – which includes Deputy Chief of Staff Joseph Hagin and Deputy National Security Advisor Mira Ricardel – intends to head to Singapore this weekend to resume negotiations with the North Koreans, which have been on hold for nearly two weeks.

If this report is accurate, North Korean officials had not appeared at back-room negotiations with the US for several days before the North issued a warning about the possibility of reconsidering the summit in a statement by First Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs Kim Kye-gwan. The newspaper’s report also suggests that Moon and Trump’s summit may lead to a breakthrough in the deadlock.

Increasing credence is being given to the prediction that the skepticism about the North Korea-US summit that was spreading in the US, including the Trump administration, will be diluted or muted by the Trump-Moon summit. Senior Secretary to the President for Public Relations Yoon Young-chan said during a press briefing after the summit that the two leaders “had agreed to do their best to ensure that the North Korea-US summit scheduled for June 12 would be pulled off without any trouble.”

In effect, the two leaders have once again pledged their political commitment to smooth sailing at the summit.

When North Korea mentioned that it might reconsider the summit, voices were raised in the US questioning North Korea’s “sincerity” about denuclearization. There was widespread cynicism in diplomatic circles in Washington that North Korea, after taking unconventional steps to arrange summits with South Korea and the US, was now resorting to its old tactic of brinkmanship to achieve its demands.

But a senior official at the Blue House who was explaining the results of the meeting emphatically said that “President Trump was completely on the same page about trying to arrange a successful summit with North Korea. There was no discussion about whether or not the summit needs to be held.”

Indeed, Trump emphasized his commitment to the summit by saying that he needs to go to Singapore to see what can be done in the negotiations, while US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said in a press conference after the summit that the US is completely prepared for the June 12 summit in Singapore.

The question of how much momentum the summit preparations will receive may well depend on what was discussed by Trump and Moon and on how North Korea will react to this. That is why the report about the plan for the White House senior team of negotiators to travel to Singapore is encouraging.

Perhaps because this is such a sensitive time – it has been called a crossroads for the North Korea-US summit – the Blue House has been playing its cards very close to its chest. But Yoon did say that “The two leaders approve of the recent attitude that North Korea has shown toward South Korea and the US, and they discussed ways of relieving the insecurity that Pyongyang may feel after making its first declaration about complete denuclearization.”

This implies that resolving the military threat and guaranteeing regime security were the key items on the agenda of the North Korea-US summit.

“President Moon and President Trump were talking about how North Korea’s anxiety about complete denuclearization must ultimately be part of regime security and that this makes it necessary to talk about a security guarantee that can give the North certainty,” a senior official at the Blue House said.

Given the relatively positive tone adopted by this senior Blue House official, it can be assumed that Trump and Moon had a fairly in-depth discussion about a non-aggression pact for North Korea, reducing or eliminating strategic assets in South Korea-US joint military exercises and normalizing relations. It also remains possible that the two leaders came to some kind of understanding about how North Korea should be compensated for denuclearization.

During the meeting, President Moon said he was “certain” that Trump’s pulling off the North Korea-US summit could lead to the official end of the Korean War, the complete denuclearization of North Korea, the construction of a permanent peace regime on the Korean Peninsula and the establishment of normal diplomatic relations between North Korea and the US.

“That would not only effective guarantee North Korea’s security but would also enable us to create peace and prosperity,” President Moon added.

In regard to President Moon’s assertion that “Chairman Kim Jong-un is definitely committed to the success of the North Korea-US summit,” a senior official at the Blue House described this as “an idea that the president has arrived at through various sorts of intelligence.” This is also prompting hopeful predictions that President Moon was able to partially convince Trump about this by explaining his conversation with Kim Jong-un on the pedestrian bridge and developments in off-the-record meetings between South and North Korea.

But Yoon said that Trump repeatedly expressed his concerns about the negative role of China during the summit and that Trump and Moon exchanged their views about the idea of the leaders of South Korea, North Korea and the US (but not China) declaring the end of the Korean War, which may have unfortunate consequences.

Practically speaking, China has immense influence over affairs on the Korean Peninsula and over North Korea, reflected by the fact that Kim Jong-un visited China two times in just over a month, and furthermore it is a signatory of the armistice agreement. Considering those facts, most experts think, it is “inappropriate” to keep China at arm’s length.　

By Yi Yong-in, Washington correspondent, and Lee Je-hun, senior staff writer

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