Sung Kim: "Hope North Korea Shows Positive Response Soon"... The Ball Is Back in North Korea's Court

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy reporters Yoo In-ho and Lee Ji-eun] Sung Kim, the U.S. Special Representative for North Korea, said on the 21st, "We are still waiting for a response from Pyongyang for dialogue."

At a meeting with Noh Kyu-duk, Director General of the South Korean Peace Negotiations Headquarters, at the Lotte Hotel in Sogong-dong, Seoul, for the South Korea-U.S. senior nuclear talks that morning, Representative Kim stated, "I hope that Kim Jong-un, General Secretary of the Workers' Party of Korea, mentioning dialogue shows that we will soon receive a positive response."

This is interpreted as an evaluation and a responsive remark to Kim Jong-un’s first message emphasizing dialogue toward the U.S.

Director General Noh also said at the meeting, "We will strive to resume talks with North Korea promptly through consultations and coordination between South Korea and the U.S." He emphasized that he is paying close attention to Kim Jong-un’s recent remarks, saying, "We aim to restore mutually beneficial South-North-U.S. relations."

This senior nuclear representative consultation is the first to be held since the Biden administration took office, and continuous talks on North Korea’s nuclear issues among South Korea-U.S.-Japan, U.S.-Japan, and South Korea-Japan will proceed until the afternoon.

◆The Ball Is Now in North Korea’s Court = Since the three countries?South Korea, the U.S., and Japan?have repeatedly urged North Korea to come to the ‘dialogue table,’ the ball is now in General Secretary Kim’s court. If Kim gives a clear answer such as "Let’s start the North Korea nuclear negotiations" in response to the three countries’ dialogue proposals and incentives, South-North-U.S. or North Korea-U.S. talks could take place within a short period. However, if North Korea maintains a confrontational stance by criticizing the joint South Korea-U.S. military exercises in August rather than choosing dialogue, the situation on the Korean Peninsula could still become tense.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, at the South Korea-U.S. senior nuclear talks held at the Lotte Hotel in Seoul that morning, Director General Noh and Representative Kim exchanged views on specific measures to bring North Korea to the dialogue table.

At the meeting, Representative Kim reportedly conveyed a message from U.S. President Joe Biden that "the U.S. is prepared to engage in principled negotiations with North Korea to address the challenges posed by North Korea’s nuclear program toward the ultimate goal of complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula." This reaffirmed the existing position that the U.S. will negotiate if North Korea comes to the dialogue table for denuclearization without conditions.

After the South Korea-U.S. talks, Director General Noh and Representative Kim held South Korea-U.S.-Japan senior nuclear talks with Takehiro Funakoshi, Director-General of the Asian and Oceanian Affairs Bureau of Japan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, to discuss cooperation measures among the three countries.

On this day, South Korea, the U.S., and Japan paid close attention to the recent messages from General Secretary Kim to South Korea and the U.S. Director General Noh said, "We are paying attention to Pyongyang’s first response to the U.S. policy toward North Korea," and "The South Korean government will continue to play the necessary role to promptly resume talks with North Korea through consultations and coordination between South Korea and the U.S."

[Image source=Yonhap News]

◆Diplomatic Circles: ‘Must Induce North Korea to the Dialogue Table’ = Jake Sullivan, U.S. National Security Advisor, also said in an interview with local media on the 20th (local time) regarding General Secretary Kim’s remarks, "I see it as an interesting signal," and added, "We will wait for North Korea’s signal to see what kind of more direct communication they follow up with." Regarding North Korea’s ‘signal,’ Sullivan explained, "It means them saying, ‘Let’s do it, let’s sit down and start negotiations.’"

Shin Beom-chul, head of the Foreign and Security Center at the Korea Institute for Industrial Economics and Trade, said, "North Korea preparing for both dialogue and confrontation means they want to bring a better negotiation proposal, not that they are ready for dialogue," and added, "North Korea’s dialogue will eventually resume under conditions that allow for phased denuclearization and a nuclear possession status, and inter-Korean dialogue also seems to be a lower priority in that regard."

Accordingly, diplomatic circles advise that various humanitarian aid measures such as COVID-19 vaccines and food support should be used to lure North Korea to the dialogue table. Jeong Se-hyun, Senior Vice Chairman of the National Unification Advisory Council, appeared on the radio that morning and said, "We need to see technically how well the U.S. can do this, but if the U.S. provides vaccines, it will probably change things," and predicted, "If vaccines like Pfizer and Moderna are included, it will be easier for the U.S. to deal with North Korea."