Pompeo's NK visit next month seen crucial



By Kim Bo-eun



Washington and Pyongyang are moving quickly to find common ground in their denuclearization negotiations after South Korean President Moon Jae-in's landmark visit to Pyongyang last week.



Top officials of the two countries met on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly, Wednesday (local time), to discuss a roadmap for the North's nuclear disarmament.



U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo posted on Twitter about his meeting with his North Korean counterpart Ri Yong-ho in New York.



He stated he had a "very positive meeting with Ri to discuss the upcoming summit and next steps toward denuclearization of North Korea."



"Much work remains, but we will continue to move forward," he said.



In a statement, the U.S. State Department said Pompeo accepted North Korean leader Kim Jong-un's invitation to visit Pyongyang next month.



It said his visit would take place to make further progress on the implementation of the commitments from the Singapore summit between the leaders of the U.S. and North Korea, and prepare for a second summit.



Pompeo's visit comes after his fourth scheduled visit was postponed last month by President Donald Trump, citing lack of progress on the part of North Korea in denuclearization.



Since then, North Korea has pledged to permanently shut down its Tongchang-ri missile testing site in the presence of international experts. It also said it would shut down its Yongbyon nuclear facility if the U.S. took reciprocal measures in accordance with the June 12 summit. The U.S. and North Korea agreed to improve relations, and for the countries to make efforts to achieve a lasting peace on the Korean Peninsula.



North Korea's pledges were announced at a summit last week between Kim and Moon.



Based on talks on North Korea's denuclearization and reciprocal measures from the U.S., a second summit between Kim and Trump is set to take place. Pompeo said in an interview with CBS it could be in October, but would likely be later.



"The second summit will be different from the first in that it will have to produce some achievements and Secretary Pompeo is seen to be holding the key this time," said Kim Dong-yub, a professor at Kyungnam University's Far East Institute.



"He will have to produce visible outcomes from his meetings in Pyongyang. This should be done by the U.S. preparing reciprocal measures that North Korea has called for."



He said such measures would not necessarily include declaring an end to the 1950-53 Korean War, but others to guarantee safety of the North Korean regime.



Kim Hyun-wook, a professor at the Korea National Diplomatic Academy (KNDA), agreed.



"North Korea and the U.S will have to figure out what denuclearization steps and the corresponding measures will be," he said.



"With the measures North Korea has offered, the U.S. may not agree to declare an end to the Korean War; it may take other corresponding measures. If the U.S. were to agree on ending the war, it would likely call for additional denuclearization steps from the North."



Meanwhile, discussions are also set to take place in Vienna, Austria, where Pompeo invited North Korean officials for denuclearization talks. Vienna is where the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) is based.



"Talks on inspecting North Korea's nuclear facilities will likely be held there," Kim of the KNDA said.

