Peninsula progress possible: experts
Positive signs of denuclearization noted ahead of inter-Korean summit
With South Korean President Moon Jae-in scheduled to meet North Korean leader Kim Jongun in Pyongyang Tuesday to Thursday, Chinese analysts predicted progress on peninsula denuclearization despite stalled talks between Pyongyang and Washington.
Moon is expected to engineer a proposal with Kim that combines a concrete framework for North Korea’s denuclearization and a joint declaration ending the 1950-53 Korean War in their third meeting, Reuters quoted Seoul officials as saying on Friday.
It is the right time to take the two topics together as they are important to peninsula issues and must work in tandem with each other, Cui Zhiying, director of Tongji University’s Korean Peninsula Research Center in Shanghai, told the Global Times on Sunday.
Without denuclearization, a peace mechanism cannot be built, Cui said. And without a peace mechanism, North Korea was not willing to denuclearize, Cui said. A declaration ending the Korean War would be the first step to a peace mechanism.
US President Donald Trump asked Moon to serve as chief negotiator between the US and North Korea as Kim told Moon’s special envoys on September 5 that he wants to realize denuclearization within Trump’s first term of office ending early 2021, Reuters reported.
The schedule showed Kim’s determination to denuclearize, Cui said. However, the US must closely cooperate with North Korea to put the plan in place.
The White House is also scheduling a second meeting between Trump and Kim after the US president received a “very warm” letter from the North Korean leader.
A potential second meeting between Kim and Trump is a positive sign and, if it took place, would boost trust between the two countries, Cui said.
US Defense Secretary James Mattis is planning to visit China in October and will likely ask China to pressure North Korea on denuclearization, Japan’s Kyodo News Agency reported on Saturday.
The US has realized the important role China plays in the peninsula, Cui said, noting that one reason behind the stagnation of talks between the US and North Korea is that the US was trying to negotiate with North Korea without China.
The US has been using a peace declaration to pressure North Korea to denuclearize, Lü Chao, a research fellow at the Liaoning Academy of Social Sciences, said. A direct discussion between North and South is more likely to achieve a positive result, he said.
China has always supported peaceful talks between the US and North Korea, Lü said, and is willing to cooperate with the US to push forward the denuclearization process.
The US should not have China shoulder the responsibility of pressuring North Korea, but respond more by itself, Lü said. High pressure and a threatening posture had already proved useless against North Korea, he noted.