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North Korean vice chairman of the Workers’ Party of Korea (WPK) Kim Yong-chol is seen sitting next to North Korean leader Kim Jong-un during the inter-Korean summit on Apr. 27.

Following the announcement that North Korean Kim Yong-chol, vice chairman of the Workers’ Party of Korea (WPK) and director of the WPK United Front Department, will be visiting New York on May 30, attention is growing about whether he and US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo will manage to finalize the agenda of the North Korea-US summit. Depending on the success of the meeting, Kim might even meet with US President Donald Trump.

Kim Yong-chol’s visit to the US comes as a response to Pompeo’s two visits to the North. Pompeo visited Pyongyang and discussed the summit with Kim from Mar. 31 to Apr. 1, while Pompeo was director of the CIA, and on May 9, shortly after he became Secretary of State. Presuming that the two men needed an additional meeting, it is fair to say that it was Kim’s turn to visit the US.

But the very fact that Kim Yong-chol is visiting the US carries special significance. This is the first time that one of North Korea’s top officials has visited the US since Jo Myong-rok, vice chairman of the National Defense Commission, visited as a special envoy for North Korean leader Kim Jong-il in Oct. 2000, during the presidency of Bill Clinton. The US government has not issued any visas to North Korean officials recently except for multinational meetings such as the UN General Assembly.

Furthermore, spokeswoman Heather Nauert for US Statement Department announced on May 29 that US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is expected to travel to New York on May 30 and is expected to meet with Kim Yong-chol on May 31.

Kim Yong-chol’s visit to the US was apparently arranged around the time that the North Korea-US summit was being derailed by the May 24 statement released by North Korean vice foreign minister Choe Son-hui.

On May 23, CNN reported that the US government was trying to set up high-level talks with North Korea out of the desire to receive further assurance that North Korean leader Kim Jong-un would give up his nuclear program. While it was predicted at the time was that Pompeo and Kim Yong-chol would meet on neutral ground, this deliberation concluded with Kim visiting the US.

The key item on the agenda of the first North Korea-US summit in history, which is scheduled for June 12, is dismantling the North Korean nuclear program. The US is asking for bold preliminary measures that can confirm the North’s determination to denuclearize, while the North is seeking to secure corresponding concessions. This was the issue on which Choe Son-hui and US Ambassador to the Philippines Sung Kim were unable to reach a final decision during their meetings at Panmunjeom. Reports indicate that the two sides failed to reach a meaningful compromise during those meetings.

Consequently, it appears that there will be another attempt to hammer out an agreement through Kim Yong-chol and Pompeo, who are higher in rank than Choe Son-hui and Sung Kim. Pompeo is expected to ask once again for a bold and swift first step, such as surrendering completed nuclear warheads or dismantling intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs).

The question of what compromise can be reached on North Korea’s corresponding demands is likely to determine the fate of the summit. Cho Sung-ryul, senior research fellow for the Institute for National Security Strategy, said it was “possible that Kim has gone to the US because of key differences of opinion [between North Korea and the US] in regard to denuclearization and a guarantee for regime security.”

Jo Myong-rok

The remaining question is whether Kim Yong-chol will meet with Trump. Considering that Pompeo, who was Trump’s special envoy, met with Kim Jong-un during his two visits to North Korea, Kim Yong-chol might also have a personal meeting with Trump according to the principle of reciprocity. A former senior government official said on May 29 that Kim Yong-chol might deliver a message from Kim Jong-un to Trump.

In a tweet confirming that Kim Yong-chol would be visiting the US, Trump said, “Meetings are currently taking place concerning Summit, [sic] and more,” which has increased expectations about the outcome of Kim’s visit to the US. This tweet can even be taken as hinting that the North Korea-US summit might immediately lead to the formal conclusion of the war by South Korea, North Korea and the US.

It appears that one of the objectives of Kim Yong-chol’s visit to the US is to meet Trump in person to acquire basic information about the president, including his body language and manner of speaking. Face-to-face information about Trump is absolutely essentially for preparing for the summit.

In related news, the US has indefinitely postponed the implementation of sanctions against North Korea that the US government had been preparing after Trump released his open letter cancelling the North Korea-US summit on May 24, the Wall Street Journal reported on May 28. This appears to be an attempt not to ruin the mood now that the summit’s chances have been revived.

By Yi Yong-in, Washington correspondent; and Kim Jieun, Noh Ji-won and Hwang Joon-bum, staff reporters

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