Third summit to test Moon again as negotiator

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un receives a letter written by President Moon Jae-in from National Security Office chief Chung Eui-yong during the Chung-led South Korean delegation's visit to Pyongyang, Sept. 5 to discuss the third Moon-Kim summit, slated for Sept. 18 to 20. / Yonhap

President asked to achieve breakthrough on N. Korea denuclearization progress

By Yi Whan-woo

The third summit between President Moon Jae-in and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, slated for Sept. 18 to 20 in Pyongyang, is posing a challenge for Moon in finding a breakthrough and speeding up the North's denuclearization progress.

The United States and North Korea are in a deadlock over their nuclear talks, with each side accusing the other over slow progress following the summit between U.S. President Donald Trump and Kim in Singapore, June 12.

This could put Moon in a precarious situation and tarnish his achievements as a key negotiator for the Singapore summit, if he fails to draw out more concrete measures toward nuclear disarmament, according to analysts.

Moon, through his two previous summits with Kim between April and May, paved the way for the Trump-Kim meeting, especially when the U.S. leader cited North Korea's "tremendous anger and open hostility" in May and cancelled the summit.

"The first Moon-Kim summit was lauded for the meeting itself because it came after years of hostile relations," said Park Won-gon, an international relations professor at Handong Global University. "It was also meaningful in that it prompted reconciliatory efforts between Washington and Pyongyang after a war of words between their leaders last year. But people no longer will be impressed by the event itself, and so taking a step closer to denuclearization will be critical in the third summit."

Yang Moo-jin, a professor at the University of North Korean Studies, had a similar view.

"The April summit resumed the dialogue between leaders of the two Koreas after it was last held in 2007, while the May summit served as a stepping stone for the Trump-Kim meeting," he said. "The third summit will be quite different from the two previous ones and assessing the denuclearization progress in a convincing manner will be the key for success."

Park underscored that September may be the "last turning point" this year over whether the denuclearization dialogue deadlock is overcome or not.

He pointed out that the U.S. midterm elections will take place in November and this will be a referendum on Trump and the Republican Party.

"This means Trump will want a favorable outcome, regarding a breakthrough in U.S.-North Korea relations as a means to achieve a Republican Party victory. And September is deemed the best time to have such an outcome," Park said.

He added that election defeat would lead to control of Congress by the Democrats, which could raise difficulties for Trump in pursuing his unconventional diplomacy on North Korea; and eventually Pyongyang's nuclear brinksmanship as in the past.

"The Trump administration still insists on maintaining the sanctions on North Korea and the situation will get severe if Democrats control Congress," Park said.

The latest U.S. sanctions include one imposed by the Treasury Department, Sept. 6, against North Korean computer programmer Pak Jin-kyok and the Chosun Expo Joint Venture, the company he worked for.

The department accused them of the 2017 global WannaCry ransomware attack and the 2014 cyber attack on Sony Pictures.

On Aug. 30, the U.S. State Department extended the ban on American citizens traveling to North Korea for another year, whereas the impoverished Pyongyang regime is stepping up its tourism campaign to earn cash.

The ban was put in place in September 2017 after the death of American college student Otto Warmbier following his release from North Korea.

Meanwhile, the analysts said a declaration ending the 1950-53 Korean War is unlikely, despite Pyongyang's demand for this.

The U.S. has not been satisfied with the progress of final, fully verified denuclearization (FFVD) of North Korea, as agreed to by Kim at the Singapore summit.

The North Korean leader argued the international community is being too harsh in judging its denuclearization efforts, when Moon's special envoys visited Pyongyang, Sept. 5, to discuss the third summit.

Kim referred to the country's "demolition" of its Punggye-ri nuclear test facility, and the dismantlement of the Tongchang-ri missile test site, according to National Security Office chief Chung Eui-yong who led the South Korean delegation to the North.

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo speaks to the media during his visit to New Delhi, India, Sept. 6. He said an "enormous" amount of work remains to be done to dismantle North Korea's nuclear weapons program. / AFP-Yonhap

On Sept. 6, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said an "enormous" amount of work remains to be done to dismantle North Korea's nuclear weapons program.

Speaking at a press event in New Delhi, India, Pompeo said the two sides were continuing negotiations in the wake of Kim's commitment to "complete denuclearization."

"It is the case that there is still an enormous amount of work to do," Pompeo said. "We haven't had any nuclear tests, we haven't had any missile tests, which we consider a good thing. But the work of convincing Chairman Kim to make the strategic shift that we've talked about for a brighter future for the people of North Korea continues."

Also on Sept. 6, the North Korean foreign ministry said it was ready to have friendly ties with countries that respect its sovereignty.

The statement was seen as a reconciliatory gesture to the outside world ahead of the 70th anniversary of the regime's foundation, Sept. 9.

"We will push to improve and normalize ties with any countries that show their respect for our sovereignty and treat us friendly even if they have had hostile relations with us before," it said. "Putting our dignity and interests first, we will actively manage our foreign affairs and develop them from various angles, while being ready to advance exchanges and cooperation on many fronts even with capitalist countries."

The ministry added North Korea has never closed its doors to the outside and has rather maintained friendly and mutually respectful relations with many countries around the world.

In a written interview published by the Indonesian newspaper Kompas, Sept. 7, President Moon said South Korea was seeking to formally end hostile relations with North Korea before the end of this year.

"The most basic goal of our policy is that there must never be another war on the Korean Peninsula," he said.

"The issue is sincerely implementing the agreement reached by the leaders, and the plan is to make enough progress by the year's end so the process cannot be reversed."

"As a practical way of building trust, it would be great if a declaration ending the war, which would mark the end of hostile relations on the Korean Peninsula, could be made this year," he added.