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Pompeo's North Korea visit raises hopes for turnaround

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Moon, Xi's planned summits with Kim may speed up NK's denuclearization

By Lee Min-hyung

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo
U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo
U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo's upcoming Pyongyang visit is expected to break the ongoing political stalemate surrounding the timeline of North Korea's denuclearization, experts said Monday.

The sign of hope comes at a time when no outstanding progress has been made over the issue following the historic June 12 summit between President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un.

A specific timeline for Pompeo's visit to the North Korean capital has yet to be confirmed. But with U.S. National Security Adviser John Bolton saying recently that Pompeo will "soon" make his fourth visit to Pyongyang, expectations are he will visit the regime sometime between the end of this month and the beginning of next month.

"Pompeo has failed to generate specific outcomes over the denuclearization dialogue with North Korea during his previous visits to Pyongyang," said Kim Sang-ki, director at the Korea Institute for National Unification's policy division.

"My view is that his upcoming visit is aimed at creating tangible achievements to put an end to the ongoing deadlock in denuclearization talks with North Korea. In this regard, Washington may push for conditions that would lead to declaring an end to the 1950-53 Korean War."

The timeline for his visit to Pyongyang also adds to the growing possibility of such a declaration at the United Nations General Assembly that starts its 73rd session Sept. 18, according to the expert.

"North Korea also needs to win some political output in its upcoming talks with Washington," he said. "At the moment, this is the declaration of the end of the war."

North Korea has in recent months urged the South and the U.S. to declare an end to the Korean War at the earliest possible date. Washington, for its part, has also taken advantage of the issue in the political tug-of-war with North Korea, calling for the regime to speed up its denuclearization in a verifiable way before it would declare an end to war.

On top of Pompeo's Pyongyang visit, Chinese President Xi Jinping also reportedly plans to visit Pyongyang Sept. 9 to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the North's founding.

President Moon Jae-in will also visit Pyongyang for his third summit with Kim Jong-un sometime in September, although the presidential office has yet to confirm a specific timeline. The upcoming visit is part of follow-up measures to the April 27 Panmunjeom Declaration.

"A series of such major political events will turn September into a month of opportunity for the smooth progress of the stalled denuclearization processes on the Korean Peninsula," Kim said.

Political commentator Lee Jin-gon said chances are the U.S. hopes to come to terms with the North to declare an end to the Korean War next month.

"But the deal will not be made easily, as Washington will definitely try to take specific advantage of it," he said. "This includes the North's promise to take more verifiable steps to speed up its ongoing denuclearization process."


Lee Min-hyung mhlee@koreatimes.co.kr


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