Will Kim Jong-un Respond This Time... and Where If It Happens?

[Anchor]

Despite U.S. President Donald Trump's active overtures, North Korea is maintaining its silence for now. Compared to past summits between the North Korean and U.S. leaders, North Korea's situation has changed significantly. If a summit were to take place, Shenzhen, China, where the APEC summit is scheduled for November, is being discussed as a potential venue.

Reporter Kim Ayeong has the story.

[Reporter]

In a commentary by the Korean Central News Agency today (August 19), North Korea fiercely criticized South Korea-U.S. joint military exercises while ignoring the fact that the drills had been scaled down.

Although U.S. President Trump stated that North Korea responded to his dialogue offer, the North has effectively maintained strategic silence.

Regarding the conditions for North Korea-U.S. dialogue, Kim Jong-un's recently publicized stance remains around his remarks from last February, which called for "respect for North Korea's state status" and the "withdrawal of hostile policies against North Korea."

Compared to 2018 during President Trump's first term, when the first North Korea-U.S. summit took place, North Korea's circumstances have changed drastically.

Having solidified its backing from traditional allies through close ties with Russia and China, North Korea has openly maintained its stance of refusing dialogue itself if denuclearization is placed on the agenda.

[Kim Sang-bum / Research Professor, North Korea Research Center, Institute for Far Eastern Studies, Kyungnam University: With its nuclear capabilities further advanced and institutionalized, and receiving economic and military support in return for participating in the war in Ukraine, the motivation to engage in dialogue with the U.S. has dropped compared to 2018 and 2019.]

President Trump referred to North Korea as a "nuclear power of sorts" last October,

[Trump / U.S. President (October 25 of last year): I think North Korea is a nuclear power of sorts. We know how many weapons they have.]

And this time, he has even brought out the card of scaling back South Korea-U.S. joint exercises, making it clear that he is putting effort into courting Pyongyang through both words and actions.

If a summit is realized despite various variables, possibilities being reviewed include Shenzhen, China, on the occasion of President Trump's attendance at the APEC summit, or Singapore, where the first North Korea-U.S. summit was held.

The South Korean government has begun assessing the status of North Korea-U.S. contacts.

[Cho Hyun / Minister of Foreign Affairs: I view this as a turning point for a new phase. We have made inquiries regarding the current status of specific contacts between the U.S. and North Korea.]

Foreign Minister Cho Hyun reportedly met with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi today to request China's constructive role regarding the Korean Peninsula issue.

(Photo courtesy of Cho Choon-dong | Video edited by Chang Hyun-ki)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.