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| U.S. National Security Adviser John Bolton speaks to the media before the arrival of President Donald Trump during a rally at Florida International University on Feb. 18 in Miami, Florida. AP-Yonhap |
By Kim Yoo-chul
U.S. National Security Adviser John Bolton plans to visit Cheong Wa Dae later this week for a meeting with his South Korean counterpart Chung Eui-yong and consultations over the upcoming U.S.-North Korea summit.
"John Bolton is set to hold a meeting later this week with National Security Office chief Chung Eui-yong at Cheong Wa Dae, to notify the presidential adviser about Washington's thoughts, expectations and rapprochement for President Donald Trump's second summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un," a source who is knowledgeable about the issue said, Thursday, without elaborating further.
Regarding Bolton and Chung's pre-summit meeting, presidential spokesman Kim Eui-kyeom said in a media briefing the presidential office couldn't confirm reports of the U.S. official's upcoming visit.
"Denuclearization can't be achieved and completed suddenly. It would be a time-consuming process. We have lots of things to do as it's a step-by-step approach," Kim told reporters at Cheong Wa Dae, adding the presidential office doesn't think Trump has lowered expectations for his second summit with the North Korean leader.
Trump told reporters in the Oval Office that the Hanoi summit likely won't be the last time he meets with Kim. In other words, according to political analysts, they are unlikely to reach a massive deal to end the North's nuclear program in Vietnam next week.
Citing two Trump administration officials, CNN reported early Thursday (KST) that Bolton will travel to South Korea later this week for a round of consultations ahead of Trump's summit with Kim Jong-un.
Political analysts in Seoul said chief negotiators representing the United States and North Korea, each, are still struggling to reach a consensus on what "denuclearization" means ahead of the Trump-Kim meeting.
South Korean President Moon Jae-in told Trump over the phone that Seoul is "fully prepared" to lessen the financial burden of the United States by resuming joint inter-Korean business and economic projects. But there isn't trust between the United States and North Korea. Given the complexity of their relations, Washington is hesitant to ease sanctions.
"For the United States, denuclearization means that the North completely ends its nuclear program and this includes the North's decision to hand over a list of nuclear experts and uranium and plutonium enrichment facilities and allow U.N. nuclear watchdog officials into the North for thorough inspections," said Yang Moo-jin, a professor at the University of North Korean Studies in Seoul.
But for North Korea, "denuclearization" means Washington stops protecting South Korea. It does so currently by stationing some 28,500 troops in the South. As a reciprocal step in exchange for its initial actions to dismantle some of its missile- and nuclear-test facilities, the North is hoping to get some "substantial concessions."
"The pressure for actual substantive progress is there, too. Regarding the North's denuclearization, there's much to be worked out," a Cheong Wa Dae official said.
U.S. and North Korean negotiators are continuing to hammer out the details of the upcoming Trump-Kim summit. Bolton has long been pessimistic of a diplomatic resolution to the North's nuclear threat.
