US sees 'signs of progress' for Trump-Kim meeting

But solving problems will require long-term approach, expert says

The "Trump-Kim" summit is necessary for both the United States and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea to start a possible peaceful relationship, yet there should not be excessive expectations, experts said.

After recent twists and turns and the whirlwind of diplomacy over the weekend, Washington said on Tuesday that there were "signs of progress" for the expected meeting between the US President Donald Trump and the DPRK's top leader Kim Jongun.

"The president (Trump) thinks that the ongoing discussions are going very well," White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders told reporters on Tuesday, adding that a recent series of meetings between Pyongyang and Washington were "certainly signs of progress".

Earlier in the day, Trump confirmed that Kim Yongchol, vice-chairman of the Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea, was on his way to New York and Washington, and the US will arrange a "great team" for the talks on resolving problems of mutual concern.

The US State Department later said that Secretary of State Mike Pompeo will travel to New York on Wednesday for the talks, which marked the third meeting between them, following their discussions during Pompeo's visits to the DPRK in April and May.

The Russian Foreign Ministry said on Wednesday that Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov would hold talks with the DPRK foreign policy chief on Thursday to discuss bilateral issues as well as the overall situation on the peninsula.

The White House also said on Tuesday that Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe will visit Washington on June 7, and Trump and Abe will discuss Korean Peninsula issues.

The summit is still highly likely to go ahead as scheduled on June 12 in Singapore, the ROK's Yonhap news agency said. But Sanders said: "We're going to be prepared if it takes place on June 12. We'll certainly be prepared if it, for some reason, takes place at a later date; we'll be prepared for that as well."

Dan Mahaffee, senior vice-president and director of policy at the Center for the Study of Congress and the Presidency, said if the summit happens, it would be an opportunity to "make a historic foreign policy breakthrough" for Washington.

"Hopefully, dialogue can continue to lessen tensions, but with a realistic understanding of what are likely outcomes," Mahaffee said.

Lyu Chao, director of the border study institute at the Liaoning Academy of Social Sciences, said the Korean Peninsula issues are long-standing and highly complex.

"If the summit can be held, whether as scheduled or not, it shows that the disputes and contradictions between the US and the DPRK can be resolved through peaceful, face-to-face dialogue, which is already a historic progress," he said.

However, Lyu cautioned that the complex problems were unlikely to be solved "by one or two summits", adding that it is also necessary for the two sides to maintain the momentum of peace, form a long-term mechanism for dialogue and gradually reach consensus on the denuclearization issues.

Despite the accelerated diplomacy between both sides, Pyongyang on Tuesday warned Washington that it might cancel the summit because of the US-ROK military exercises, saying it is "the root cause of disturbing the peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula".

Darrell West, a senior fellow with the Brookings Institution, said he believed that there is a reasonable chance the summit will still take place, as the international community, including China, has invested considerable time and effort in making the summit possible so each has an incentive to keep the conversation open.

Xinhua contributed to this story.

Contact the writers at panmengqi@chinadaily.com.cn.

(China Daily 05/31/2018 page11)