DPRK-US talks called 'constructive'
The working-level consultations just concluded between Pyongyang and Washington in Sweden may help break the impasse over denuclearization on the Korean Peninsula and pave the way for a second summit between DPRK top leader Kim Jong-un and US President Donald Trump.
Margot Wallstrom, foreign minister of Sweden, told Swedish news agency TT on Monday that "constructive talks have been held covering issues concerning developments on the Korean Peninsula, including confidence building, economic development and long-term engagement".
Wallstrom said she hopes the talks "will serve as a good preparation for an upcoming summit".
Sweden has had diplomatic relations with the Democratic People's Republic of Korea since 1973 and is one of a few Western countries with an embassy in Pyongyang.
As part of the run-up to the first summit between Kim and Trump in Singapore last June, Sweden had also hosted the DPRK Foreign Minister Ri Yong-ho in March 2018.
On Friday, White House announced that Trump and Kim would meet in late February without giving a fixed date and location.
A diplomatic source told Reuters that the Swedish round-table conference, held on the outskirts of Stockholm over the weekend had touched on the planned summit while bilateral talks had also been held on the sidelines.
"Different mechanisms for regional security have been discussed, that issue was something to which a lot of time was devoted," the source said.
DPRK Vice-Foreign Minister Choe Son-hui, US special envoy for DPRK negotiations Stephen Biegun and Republic of Korea negotiator Lee Do-hoon took part. The Swedish government and the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, an independent think tank focused on research on conflicts, armaments and arms control, were co-hosting the talks.
Analysts said the Stockholm encounter will offer an opportunity to build toward something new at the second summit.
Meanwhile, Yonhap News Agency said expectations remain over an additional meeting between the two sides since they are reported to be staying for another day before they leave Sweden.
The Sweden negotiations come after Kim Yong-chol, vice-chairman of the DPRK's ruling Workers' Party of Korea Central Committee, visited Washington early last week. He had talks with US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and met with Trump.
In a Monday interview, US Vice-President Mike Pence said that in the second summit, Washington will be laying out its expectations for the DPRK to "take concrete steps to begin to make real the denuclearization that Kim Jong-un committed to". In addition, Pence said Washington's sanctions toward Pyongyang are still firmly in place.
Trump and Kim agreed in their first landmark Singapore summit that the two sides would improve ties and work together to denuclearize the Korean Peninsula. But it was never really made clear what denuclearization would entail as the agreement did not include any timeline, details or mechanisms to verify this process.
(China Daily 01/23/2019 page12)
