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| Senior North Korean official Kim Yong-chol and U.S. Secretary of State shake hands after meeting in New York last week to discuss the Pyongyang-Washington summit. Yonhap |
By Kim Bo-eun
U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and senior North Korean official Kim Yong-chol have played major roles in enabling the North Korea-U.S. summit arranged for June 12 in Singapore. Meanwhile, National Security Chief John Bolton appears to have been sidelined due to his earlier remarks about the Libya denuclearization model, which led to a hostile response from Pyongyang and endangered prospects of the summit taking place.
Meetings between Pompeo and Kim Yong-chol, vice chairman of the Central Committee of North Korea's ruling Workers' Party, are seen to have laid the groundwork for the summit.
Pompeo, as the former director of the CIA, is known to have led U.S. efforts with a team including Andrew Kim of the agency's Korea Mission Center.
Kim Yong-chol, meanwhile, has played a key role this year as the North Korean leader's right-hand man in terms of both inter-Korean affairs and diplomacy. He has attended all of Kim Jong-un's summits this year _ two meetings with South Korean President Moon Jae-in and two with Chinese President Xi Jinping. He was previously the chief of North Korea's intelligence agency.
After the summit was set up in early March, Pompeo made a visit to Pyongyang the same month, during which he met with the North Korean leader and Kim Yong-chol. He made a second visit in May, after which it was speculated the U.S. and North Korea had agreed on a big framework for the denuclearization deal _ that Pyongyang would give up its nuclear program in return for regime security guarantees by establishing diplomatic ties with Washington.
However, Bolton and Vice President Mike Pence both made several references to the Libyan denuclearization model afterward, which sparked an angry response from the North. Libya gave up its nuclear program entirely and shipped its nuclear equipment to the U.S. for rewards such as the establishment of diplomatic relations with the U.S. However, Libya's leader was killed by U.S.-backed rebels years later, the part North Korea finds disturbing when references to the Libyan model are made.
After several belligerent comments from Pyongyang aimed specifically at Bolton and Pence's references, Trump called off the summit, citing the "anger and hostility" that was displayed. However, it was put back on track after Pyongyang said it was willing to have dialogue with Washington, and Kim Yong-chol flew to the U.S. to deliver a letter from Kim Jong-un to Trump.
In the process, Pompeo was seen as having played a mediating role. While he was seen as holding a hard-line stance against North Korea as former CIA chief, he appears to have shown a flexible attitude in the process leading to the Trump-Kim summit.
During Kim Yong-chol's visit to New York and Washington, he had his third meeting with Pompeo; and when Kim met with Trump at the White House, Bolton and Pence were not in sight, seemingly in consideration that their remarks had irked Pyongyang.
CNN reported that Pompeo had an "angry confrontation" with Bolton at the White House after his remarks on the Libyan model.
Bolton is known to be the "hawk of hawks" in foreign policy; but will be present at the Trump-Kim summit, according to the White House.
