US President Donald Trump And North Korean leader Kim Jong-un could meet as early as next week.
The Minister of Unification announced this South Korea Chung Dongyeonnoting that there is a “significant likelihood” of negotiations following the US President’s visit to Seoul.
According to him, Pyongyang is “watching the US closely” and there are many signs pointing to the possibility of a summit. The leaders last met in June 2019 in the demilitarized zone between North Korea and South Korea – a meeting organized just 30 hours after Trump’s tweet.
This time the initiative, according to experts, may be related to Kim’s disappointment in support from Moscow. In October, the North Korean leader unexpectedly announced that he was “open to new negotiations” with Washington, although he stressed that he would “never give up nuclear weapons.”
Many analysts believe that a possible summit will sooner political showthan a real diplomatic breakthrough. Representative Friedrich Naumann Foundation in Seoul Frederick Spohr told BILD: “Kim knows Trump appreciates spectacular meetings. They are beneficial to both – Kim strengthens his international status and sends a signal to Moscow and Beijing that he has a choice. But don’t expect a breakthrough“
Next week in South Korea there will be Asia-Pacific Economic Forumwhere leaders of a number of states will gather, including Trump And Xi Jinping. Trump previously said he hoped to meet with the North Korean leader before the end of this year, which experts say could become part of his foreign policy strategy amid the US election campaign.
If the meeting does take place, it may become not a negotiation, but a performance in which both sides will try to extract maximum political dividends.
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