SoKor abuzz about Kim’s possible trip
SEOUL, South Korea — Day after day, rampant speculation about North Korean leader Kim Jong Un's possible trip to Seoul is making headlines in South Korea, despite no official confirmation from either government.
Many analysts say it would be extremely difficult for Kim to fulfill by the end of this year his reported promise to become the first North Korean leader to visit South Korea, given limited time for preparation and impasses in global diplomacy on his nuclear weapons. But others say we will not know until the year is over, noting that several previously unthinkable events have happened in the past months, including Kim's June summit with President Donald Trump in Singapore.
A look at the status of Kim's possible trip to Seoul:
THE SPECULATION
As the year draws to a close, South Korean media, experts and politicians are churning out reports and guesswork on whether Kim will come to Seoul by the end of December, or will postpone or even spike his plan.
South Korean President Moon Jae-in appears to be pushing Kim to keep his promise, though he said there is no time frame for his visit. After a meeting with Trump last week on the sidelines of the G-20 summit in Argentina, Moon told reporters that the two agreed that Kim's trip would play a "very positive role" in U.S.-North Korea nuclear diplomacy. Moon suggested that Trump agreed Kim's Seoul trip could come before the resumption of high-level U.S.-North Korean talks, including a possible second Trump-Kim summit.
One of the time frames that South Korean media say would likely be for Kim's trip to South Korea is Dec. 18-20. These dates are based on a belief that the two Koreas would need more than a week of preparation, and would allow Kim to stay at home for a Dec. 17 memorial service for his late dictator father, Kim Jong Il. Also, Kim would be busy in late December preparing for his annual New Year's Day address to outline his policy directions for 2019.
Moon's presidential office on Wednesday reiterated that Kim's trip can occur either this month or early next year, saying it's up to North Korea.
THE OBSTACLES
So the ball is in Kim's court now, but his propaganda services have been silent about a Seoul trip.
Kim might find such a trip less beneficial now than when he agreed to it following his third summit with Moon in Pyongyang in September.