Following Trump, Pompeo Also Boosts Summit... What Will Be Kim's Choice?

President Trump and Secretary Pompeo Mention Possibility of Sequential North Korea-US Summits
Trump May Shift to Promoting North Korea-US Talks Amid Unusual Developments in Election Campaign
Uncertain Whether Chairman Kim Jong-un Will Respond Before Election

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy New York=Correspondent Baek Jong-min] Mike Pompeo, the Secretary of State and chief negotiator for North Korea-US talks, did not rule out the possibility of holding a North Korea-US summit.

Despite North Korea's outright rejection, attention is focused on what decision Kim Jong-un, Chairman of the State Affairs Commission of North Korea, will make, as both President Trump and Secretary Pompeo have proposed a 'top-down' approach.

On the 9th (local time), Secretary Pompeo confirmed in a phone conference with the media that when asked about the possibility of a third North Korea-US summit before the US presidential election, "I don't want to say today," but expressed a strong hope to continue dialogue.

Secretary Pompeo mentioned, "Whether at a level lower than a summit, or if appropriate and useful activities can take place to bring high-level leaders together again..." The term "high-level leaders" appears to suggest the possibility of a meeting between the two countries' heads of state.

He also said, "I don't want to comment on ongoing talks with one party." This could be interpreted as indicating that talks with North Korea are currently underway.

Major media outlets interpreted this as Pompeo leaving the door open for another North Korea-US summit, despite North Korea stating it has no intention to return to talks.

Prior to Pompeo, President Trump also stated in a media interview, "If I think it would help, I would have another summit with Chairman Kim Jong-un," which aligns with Pompeo's remarks.

While the US Deputy Secretary of State and chief negotiator for North Korea-US working-level talks, Stephen Biegun, stated during his visit to Korea, "We have not requested a meeting with North Korea," responding firmly to North Korea's hardline remarks, domestically both the President and Secretary of State have consecutively shown conciliatory gestures toward North Korea, indicating an intention to send messages at the highest level of negotiation rather than just working-level officials.

Deputy Secretary Biegun previously expressed a low likelihood of a North Korea-US summit before the election at an event on the 29th of last month, saying, "Probably not." He recalled that the second North Korea-US summit in Hanoi at the end of February last year ended with 'no deal,' and indicated that some agreement must be reached through working-level talks for a summit to be possible.

Initially, President Trump appeared reluctant to actively engage in negotiations with North Korea before the election. He strongly intended to prevent provocations from North Korea and focus on the election, but as his approval ratings plummeted due to inadequate responses to the COVID-19 pandemic and the Black Lives Matter movement, a shift in approach became necessary, leading to the reintroduction of the North Korea-US summit.

The experience of the Panmunjom meeting between the North Korea and US leaders last year, which was arranged in response to a tweet request from President Trump despite the failure of the second North Korea-US summit, may also be a reason why President Trump directly mentioned the summit again.

Since the North Korean side's mention of no intention to engage in talks was from working-level officials, if the final decision-maker Kim Jong-un makes a sudden decision, the summit is not impossible.

However, with the uncertainty of President Trump's re-election, it seems difficult for North Korea to emphasize relations with Trump without considering relations with the US Democratic Party.

Even if the Democratic Party comes to power, top-down dialogue between the two leaders may be difficult, so it is possible to speculate that Chairman Kim may choose to make a sudden deal with President Trump.