Was North Korean leader’s surprise international debut in Beijing an auspicious sign ahead of meetings with the leaders of South Korea and the United States – or an attempt to gain an advantage?
W hat a difference a week makes. Just days ago, Seoul might justifiably have believed that settling the date for the first inter-Korean summit for over a decade would have been enough to steal the headlines.
But then it would not have been reckoning on a surprise international debut by the leader of the hermit nation to its north, nor on the appointment of a US national security adviser who has openly backed pre-emptive strikes on North Korea, nor on yet another missive from US President Donald Trump calling into question its trade relationship with Washington.
Excitement about the groundbreaking summit, which will focus on Pyongyang’s denuclearisation, has been building for weeks so the announcement on Thursday that North and South Korean leaders would meet on April 27 should have been a moment of unblemished glory for the South’s president, Moon Jae-in, who has spent much political capital in reaching out to the North. As it was, by the time the announcement had been made, the thunder had already been stolen by the North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, who earlier in the week had popped up in Beijing – entirely unannounced – for his first international trip.
That appearance only muddied the waters regarding the North’s true intentions for its summit with the South and the summit with Trump expected before the end of May. The situation had become more complex after Trump appointed notorious hawk John Bolton as national security adviser last week. Futher complicating matters, Trump on Thursday said he may put off implementing a new US-Korea Free Trade Agreement (KORUS) deal with Seoul until after his own meeting with Kim.
South Korean Unification Minister Cho Myoung-gyon showed no signs of defeatism on Thursday after he led a delegation to meet North Korean counterparts in the truce village of Panmunjon. Pyongyang’s goal was “not very different” from that of Seoul, he told reporters.
His counterpart from the North, Ri Son-gwon, chairman of North Korea’s Committee for Peaceful Reunification, mirrored the upbeat language. “We still have a lot of issues to resolve over the next month. But if both sides do their best and remain deeply aware of the historic significance and meaning of this summit, we will be able to solve all problems quickly and easily.”
A follow-up meeting to discuss the logistics of the summit has been scheduled for April 4.
