UN meeting could pave way for 2nd summit

Sanctions against the DPRK and denuclearization will be the main topics for discussion during the high-level UN General Assembly, as US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is to host a special session at the Security Council on Thursday to urge the international community to keep up the pressure on Pyongyang despite the country's recent commitment to abandon its nuclear sites.

Pompeo said on Sunday that economic sanctions on the Democratic People's Republic of Korea will not be reduced until it completes denuclearization.

Top leader of the DPRK Kim Jong-un said last week at a summit with the Republic of Korea President Moon Jae-in that he was willing to dismantle DPRK's nuclear launch sites if the US takes "corresponding measures". He also promised that international inspectors can enter the country to witness the dismantlement.

Observer said the latest Kim-Moon summit has helped revive US-DPRK diplomacy that had failed to make headway since President Donald Trump met Kim in Singapore in June and signed a commitment on denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula.

However, differences remain in current DPRK-US talks, including the scale of denuclearization, US sanctions, and whether to issue a war-ending declaration.

Pompeo refuse to say whether Washington would consider a declaration on ending the Korean War that Pyongyang has sought as a sign of reduced US hostility.

"Everybody's got their own idea what a concession might be. Some thought it was a concession for President Trump to go to Singapore. I certainly didn't think so; President Trump doesn't," Pompeo told the US TV program Fox News Sunday.

"But what we've made clear is the economic sanctions - the driving force to achieve the outcome we're looking for - will not be released. And the UN Security Council will not reduce those sanctions, until such time as we've achieved that final denuclearization."

Zhang Yun, an associate professor of Japan's National Niigata University, said the DPRK has made several positive gestures since the landmark Kim-Trump meeting, including the demolition of one nuclear test site and dismantling of a missile launch facility, the return of the remains of US soldiers from the Korean War (1950-53) and the release of US citizens.

The latest Kim-Moon talks could be a prelude for a second DPRK-US summit that may lead to more specific agreements, Zhang said.

In the past decades, the central question on the Korean Peninsula issue has been whether Pyongyang is inclined to reform. But now the focus would be more on how the US and President Trump can grasp this historic opportunity to make change happen earlier and smoother by skillfully navigating US policies, Zhang added.

The Associated Press said while Pompeo has invited his DPRK counterpart for a meeting on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly this week, Trump is also considering a second summit with Kim.

"President Trump very much is prepared to meet with Chairman Kim at the right time, and we hope that will happen in the not-too-distant future," Pompeo said.

panmengqi@chinadaily.com.cn

(China Daily 09/25/2018 page12)