U.S.: "Trump open to dialogue with Kim Jong Un without preconditions"

The U.S. White House said on the 30th (local time) that "U.S. President Donald Trump remains open to talking with Kim Jong Un, General Secretary of the Workers' Party of Korea, without any preconditions." Although the U.S. maintains its goal of denuclearization of North Korea, there are concerns that it might tolerate North Korea's nuclear program to restart U.S.-North Korea talks.

A White House official responded this way to a media question asking, 'Are you open to talking with North Korea without mentioning nuclear issues, as Chairman Kim recently suggested?' He added, "President Trump held three historic summits with North Korea's Kim Jong Un during his first term, and through them the Korean Peninsula achieved stability." President Trump and Chairman Kim first met in June 2018 in Singapore, and met in Hanoi, Vietnam in June 2019, and in Panmunjom in June 2019.

The White House official also emphasized, "The U.S. policy toward North Korea has not changed." This phrase is interpreted to mean that the U.S. government's position of "complete denuclearization" of North Korea has not changed. North Korea is trying to gain international recognition as a "nuclear-armed state." The day before, Kim Seon-kyung, Vice Minister at North Korea's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, emphasized in a speech to the general debate of the 80th United Nations General Assembly in New York, "We will never give up our nuclear weapons, and under no circumstances will we withdraw this position."

However, he added, "We will develop multifaceted exchanges and cooperation with countries that respect and treat our country in a friendly manner." This was interpreted to indirectly suggest the possibility of U.S.-North Korea dialogue, meaning that, on the premise of respect and friendliness toward North Korea, it can hold talks even with countries whose ideology and system differ.

Accordingly, it is assessed that there is a possibility that a summit between the U.S. and North Korea leaders could take place on the occasion of President Trump's visit to South Korea to attend the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in Gyeongju from October 30 to November 1. There are also observations that President Trump might effectively recognize North Korea's nuclear weapons in order to achieve U.S.-North Korea talks. Du Jin-ho, head of the Eurasia Center at the Korea National Strategy Research Institute, said, "The U.S.'s recognition of North Korea's status as a nuclear-armed state is a precondition for a U.S.-North Korea summit," and predicted, "Under what conditions North Korea would freeze its nuclear development, and conditions regarding nuclear weapon production facilities and modernization, will become substantive negotiation agendas."

Reporter Kim Dong-hyun 3code@hankyung.com