hankyoreh

US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un

Less than a day after North Korean First Vice Foreign Minister Kim Kye-gwan released a statement calling for the resumption of negotiations “regardless of ways” and “at any time,” US President Donald Trump responded by calling the statement from North Korea “warm and productive.” Trump went on to suggest his willingness to resume preparations for the previously cancelled North Korea-US summit to go ahead as scheduled.

“Very good news to receive the warm and productive statement from North Korea. We will soon see where it will lead, hopefully to long and enduring prosperity and peace,” Trump tweeted at around 8:20 am on May 25.

“Only time (and talent) will tell!” he added.

Shortly afterwards, he told reporters there was a possibility the summit would take place as scheduled on June 12.

The “warm and productive statement” referred to by Trump was one credited to Kim Kye-gwan published by the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) around 15 hours earlier. Adopting a respectful tone for the statement, Kim noted that Trump had pursued a bilateral summit when “any other U.S. presidents dared not.”

“[W]e have the intent to sit with the U.S. side to solve problem [sic] regardless of ways at any time,” he wrote.

Predictions that Trump had not completely washed his hands of North Korea-US dialogue had remained alive. During a signing ceremony for economic legislation at the White House on the morning of May 24 – around two hours after his cancellation of the summit scheduled to take place in Singapore on June 12 – Trump said it was “possible that the existing summit could take place, or a summit at some later date.”

The State Department shared that Secretary of State Mike Pompeo had spoken by telephone on the morning of May 25 with South Korean Minister of Foreign Affairs Kang Kyung-wha, with Pompeo reportedly stressing Washington’s “clear will” to continue dialogue with North Korea.

Logically speaking, the US could resume preparations for the summit if the issues that led it to cancel the Singapore meeting are rendered moot. Reasons given for the cancellation by a senior White House official in a briefing the same day included North Korean Vice Foreign Minister Choe Son-hui’s remarks about Vice President Mike Pence, references to a “nuclear-to-nuclear showdown” implying North Korea has no intention of denuclearization, the absence of a North Korean working-level team in Singapore last week, and the failure to invite experts to an event for the closing of North Korea’s nuclear test site.

The matter of Choe’s remarks denouncing Pence may be seen as an error on both ends that can be resolved swiftly through mutual understanding. Indeed, while Trump gave no concrete apology in response to Kim’s statement, he did characterize it as “warm and productive.” In terms of the closing of the northern nuclear test site at Punggye Village in North Hamgyong Province, a face-saving solution would be to allow experts to visit and carrying out an after-the-fact inspection once trust has been established between the two sides.

In the final analysis, the key question will be whether the two sides can reach a preliminary agreement on the method of denuclearization, corresponding measures, and the sequence of events. Before the US’s announcement canceling the Singapore meeting, the two sides outwardly appeared to have made some headway in bridging differences on the method issue. It remains uncertain whether they will be able to reach common ground.

In any event, Trump sent a positive signal in response to Kim’s statement, and a working-level North Korea-US meeting scheduled this weekend in Singapore to discuss the summit’s venue, protocol, and security appears likely to go ahead, along with high-level talks to discuss the “denuclearization agenda.”

After the huge shock wave of the summit cancellation announcement, the two sides seem to have gone back to their original places.

By Yi Yong-in, Washington correspondent, and Ki Ji-eun, staff reporter

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