"Trump Seeks U.S.-North Korea Summit at APEC in November"... Key Is Whether Dialogue Resumes

With speculation arising that U.S. President Donald Trump could hold a summit meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un as early as November, attention is focused on whether U.S.-North Korea summit diplomacy will resume. President Trump has recently ordered the reduction of joint South Korea-U.S. military exercises and revealed that Kim responded to his request for dialogue, repeatedly sending messages calling for talks. However, North Korea has yet to issue an official response.

Korean Central News Agency reported that Chairman Kim Jong Un and President Donald Trump held a private meeting and an expanded meeting at the Metropole Hotel in Hanoi, Vietnam the previous day. March 1, 2019. Yonhap News Agency

The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported on the 18th (local time), citing U.S. government officials, that President Trump privately discussed options for pursuing a face-to-face summit with Kim Jong Un with his aides. It was also reported that during his Asian tour for the upcoming Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit to be held in Shenzhen, China, in November, a meeting with Kim was considered. However, official preparations for a summit have not yet begun.

Recently, President Trump has sent a series of messages aimed at initiating dialogue with Kim Jong Un. On the 16th, he emphasized that he maintains "a very good relationship" with Kim and announced that he had ordered a significant reduction of joint South Korea-U.S. exercises. The following day, he stated that Kim "responded" to his request for talks, and when asked how far U.S.-North Korea dialogue had progressed, Trump replied, "very positive."

During his first term, President Trump held two summit meetings with Kim Jong Un, in Singapore in 2018 and in Hanoi in 2019, and also met at Panmunjom that same year. However, the Hanoi summit ended without agreement due to unresolved differences over denuclearization measures and the lifting of sanctions on North Korea.

Even if a summit is pursued again this time, the negotiation environment has changed compared to then. North Korea has also strengthened its ties with Russia and China. In particular, North Korea's growing alignment with Russia has deepened, including the dispatch of troops in support of Russia's war in Ukraine. In addition, North Korea has further advanced its nuclear and missile capabilities while consistently rejecting negotiations based on the premise of denuclearization. If U.S.-North Korea dialogue does resume, the core variable will be how to address the denuclearization issue.

Park Wongon, a professor of North Korean Studies at Ewha Womans University, said, "North Korea's position is that they will not engage in denuclearization talks and ultimately want negotiations on nuclear arms reduction. The U.S. may try to accommodate North Korea by discussing unconditional dialogue instead of denuclearization. If the U.S. does accommodate this, it would be difficult for North Korea to refuse."

It remains unclear whether the "response" from Kim, mentioned by President Trump, actually signifies behind-the-scenes contact between the U.S. and North Korea. President Trump has not disclosed details of the communication's method or content. North Korea also has yet to clarify its position regarding President Trump's repeated calls for dialogue or reports about a summit meeting.

Professor Park pointed out that, while President Trump appears to have a genuine intention to meet with Kim Jong Un, it is difficult to determine whether back-channel contacts are actually taking place at this time. He stated, "President Trump really does intend to meet Kim Jong Un and to hold a summit, but in terms of the communication itself, we have no information and therefore cannot know for sure."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.