USNorth Korea talks may proceed
SEOUL/TOKYO: North Korea has dispatched top officials to the United States and Singapore, media reported yesterday, the latest indication that the summit with US President Donald Trump may go ahead.
North Korea’s Kim Yongchol, vicechairman of the ruling Workers’ Party’s central committee, was scheduled to fly to the United States today after speaking to Chinese officials in Beijing, South Korea’s Yonhap news agency said, citing an unnamed source.
North Korean leader Kim Jongun’s de facto chief of staff, Kim Changson, meanwhile, flew to Singapore via Beijing early yesterday, Japanese public broadcaster NHK reported.
At the same time, a ‘‘preadvance’’ team was travelling to Singapore to meet the North Koreans, the White House said.
US government officials, including White House deputy chief of staff for operations Joe Hagin, left US Yokota Air Base in Japan for Singapore on Monday, NHK said.
The reports indicate that planning for the summit, initially scheduled for June 12, is moving ahead.
When Kim Changson was asked by a reporter at the Beijing airport if he was flying to Singapore for talks with the United States, he said he was ‘‘going there to play’’, according to footage from Nippon Television Network.
Choe Kangil, a North Korean foreign ministry official involved with North America issues, was also spotted at the airport, according to Yonhap. It did not say whether Choe would be accompanying Kim Yongchol.
If his trip is confirmed, Kim Yongchol would be the most senior North Korean official to meet top officials in the United States since Jo Myongrok, a marshal, met then president Bill Clinton at the White House in 2000.
A former military spy chief, Kim Yongchol has been a central player in the recent thaw in relations between North Korea and South Korea, as well as the United States.
Kim joined Kim Jongun in meetings with South Korean President Moon Jaein in April and May, and hosted US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo in Pyongyang early this month.
The United States and South Korea blacklisted Kim Yongchol for supporting the North’s nuclear and missile programmes in 2010 and 2016, respectively. Due to sanctions against him, he is banned from visiting the United States normally. Any visit there would indicate a waiver was granted. — Reuters