North Korea, US will hold pre-summit talks in Singapore

The United States and North Korea are set to hold working-level talks this weekend in Singapore ahead of a planned historic meeting between President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, according to overseas reports, Thursday.

The reported meeting was arranged to narrow differences on the regime’s pledge for denuclearization before the Washington-Pyongyang summit slated for June 12.

According to the Washington Post, the U.S. plans to send Joseph Hagin, deputy chief of staff for operations at the White House, and Deputy National Security Advisor Mira Ricardel, for the negotiations with their North Korean counterparts.

But nothing has been revealed over who will represent the North.

Both sides are expected to discuss issues such as the definition of denuclearization and the logistics for the upcoming summit, according to the report.

The scheduled historic gathering between Trump and Kim looked to be proceeding smoothly, but hit a snag in the wake of the regime’s sudden shift in stance last week.

This is in contrast to Pyongyang’s rare peace signals in recent months. Starting this year, the regime offered to build peace on the Korean Peninsula by expressing its strong determination for denuclearization.

But last week, the regime started to play hardball by canceling planned high-level talks with the South, and intensifying its provocative rhetoric against Seoul and Washington.

The abrupt shift in stance is also casting doubt over whether Kim will appear in Singapore next month for the summit with Trump.

“The summit may not work out for June 12,” Trump said on the sidelines of a Seoul-Washington summit Tuesday. “If it doesn’t happen, maybe it will happen later.”

Trump added that he would know sometime next week whether the upcoming summit in Singapore will be held as planned for June 12.

During the pre-summit meeting between Washington and Pyongyang, both sides will also resolve their differences on details, such as a specific summit venue and security issues.

North Korea remains taciturn over the upcoming working-level dialogue without making public the schedule through its media.

The regime is, instead, ramping up its criticism of the U.S., urging the latter to stop slandering Pyongyang by unilaterally pressing it to give up its nuclear weapons.

Washington is also seeking not to lose the rare dialogue opportunity, with Trump stating security guarantees for Kim after he carries out nuclear disarmament.

“I will guarantee his safety,” Trump said Tuesday.

“He will be safe. He will be happy. His country will be rich and his country will be hard-working and prosperous.”