Direct talks underway between US and North Korea

CNN reports that The United States and North Korea have been holding secret, direct talks to prepare for a summit between President Donald Trump and North Korea leader Kim Jong Un, a sign that planning for the highly anticipated meeting is progressing, several administration officials familiar with the discussions tell CNN.

“Central Intelligence Agency Director Mike Pompeo and a team at the CIA have been working through intelligence back-channels to prepare for the summit, the officials said. American and North Korean intelligence officials have spoken several times and have even met in a third country, with a focus on nailing down a location for the talks.

Although the North Korean regime has not publicly declared its invitation by Kim Jong Un to meet with Trump, which was conveyed last month by a South Korean envoy, several officials say North Korea has since acknowledged Trump’s acceptance, and Pyongyang has reaffirmed Kim is willing to discuss the denuclearization of the Korean peninsula.

The North Koreans are pushing to have the meeting in their capital, Pyongyang, the sources said, although it is unclear whether the White House would be willing to hold the talks there. The Mongolian capital Ulaanbaatar has also been raised as a possible location, the sources said.”

Pompeo is one of Trump’s most trusted national security advisers and has led efforts to prepare for the summit. If confirmed, he will assume oversight of the diplomatic preparations. As recently as this weekend, Trump told associates he was looking forward to the summit, which he agreed to on the spot when presented the invitation from Kim. The timeline, however, remains unidentified. Officials said the current target date is late May or June.

“Officials said the participation of the North Koreans in the preparatory talks give them more confidence that Kim is serious about meeting. Until the talks between US and North Korean intelligence officials began in earnest, Trump and his aides have relied partly on the characterizations of the South Koreans, which have experienced a rapprochement since the Olympic games held in Pyongchang in February that led to Kim’s historic invite to Trump.

The Chinese have also provided a briefing to the White House after Kim and President Xi Jinping met in Beijing late last month.”

State Department officials continue to communicate with the North Koreans though their mission to the United Nations, discussions which are referred to as the “New York channel.”

The talks with North Korea are informing coordination among government agencies which are preparing for the summit, an effort led by Matthew Pottinger, the top Asia official at the National Security Council. Incoming national security adviser John Bolton, who starts work at the White House on Monday, is expected to assume a large role in the planning for the talks, along with Pompeo.

I’m guardedly optimistic for a successful outcome- the denuclearization of the Korean peninsula and improved relations among the countries involved; something prior administrations patently failed to achieve. The fact is, without Trump’s hard ball sanctions, these talks would be a fantasy.

Category: Foreign Policy, North Korea