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| Motorcycles on Monday pass in front of the Vietnam-Soviet Friendship Cultural Palace in Hanoi in which the International Media Center will be established for thousands of reporters to cover the upcoming summit between U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un. The summit lasts for two days from Wednesday. / Korea Times photo by Choi Won-suk |
By Lee Min-hyung
HANOI ― North Korea will be able to achieve faster and safer economic growth only if it signs a possible "one-shot big deal" with the United States on denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula during their upcoming summit in Vietnam, experts said Monday.
With the second summit between U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un two days away, all eyes are on whether the two unpredictable leaders will strike a surprise agreement to revive their momentum for dialogue which was stalled following their first historic Singapore meeting last June.
For the North's young leader, the summit is more than important to realize his vision of the regime's economic prosperity, as the U.S. holds the de facto key to easing heavy economic sanctions on the North imposed from the international society.
For this reason, Kim Jong-un's possible travel itinerary in Vietnam, which is cited as the North's role model for economic development, is also gaining attention, as the Southeast Asian country has achieved outstanding growth by opening up its centralized and socialist economy.
Experts argue that the North should take full advantage of the ongoing denuclearization negotiations with the U.S. to take a similar path as Vietnam.
In particular, they said North Korea needs not opt for the ongoing "step-by-step" denuclearization measures if the regime hopes to make big progress in sanctions relief and economic growth.
"The North's denuclearization has so far made little progress under the current action-for-action approach in negotiations with the U.S.," said Nam Sung-wok, a professor of North Korea studies at Korea University.
"Pyongyang should shift its negotiating strategy with Washington with the focus on seeking measures to ease economic sanctions as early as possible. The best way to do so is to offer to speed up its denuclearization by signing one-shot deals with the U.S."
The view is in reflection of the months-long deadlock in denuclearization talks between Washington and Pyongyang. The first historic meeting between Trump and Kim raised hopes for rapid progress in the North's nuclear disarmament, but they failed to reach a detailed consensus on the agenda.
High-level and working-level officials from the two sides have since engaged in a series of talks to seek a consensus, but all of them ended in failure in terms of speeding up the denuclearization of the North.
The professor went on to say that it is up to Kim Jong-un's decision for the North's economic growth.
"Establishing diplomatic relations with the U.S. is key for the North to get away from dire economic conditions," Nam pointed out. "This will pave the way for an influx of international capital into the North."
Lim Eul-chul, a professor at Kyungnam University, also concurred that amicable relations with the U.S. is fundamental for the North's economic growth.
"Normalizing diplomatic ties with the U.S. is a prerequisite for the North if it wants to follow in the footsteps of Vietnam's economic growth history," he said.
"But Kim Jong-un will customize the Vietnamese economic growth model in a way to fit in the North's style."
For instance, Vietnam's successful experiences in attracting foreign investment and developing its tourism industry can examples for the North to follow, the professor said.
On Kim Jong-un's Hanoi visit, it is very likely he will visit Samsung Electronics' smartphone factory and participate in a series of field inspections to observe local economic growth.
