6.30 Panmunjom US-DPRK Summit Meeting and Prospect of US-DPRK Talks
 

[Current Issues and Policies 2019-15]

Dr. Woo Jung-Yeop

Director of Center for American Studies,

the Sejong Institute

woo@sejong.org

Executive Summary:

As various news and speculations are released along with the notice of resumption of negotiations between the U.S. and North Korea, one of discussions involve the topic of whether the U.S. has changed the direction of negotiation to acknowledge the North Korea’s possession of nuclear weapon. It is an important issue since changing from CVID (Complete, Verifiable, Irreversible Dismantlement) or FFVD (Final Fully Verifiable Denuclearization) to “freeze” can be the problem of changing the whole structure of the negotiation.

The core of discussion in the U.S. after the talks at Panmunjom is the actual approach and objective of the negotiation. In the comment of the U.S. Special Representative for North Korea Stephen Biegun, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, and President Donald Trump, there seems to be no evidence that there will be any change in the method of the U.S. Since the U.S. and North Korea made an agreement upon the final state of denuclearization with the U.S. suggestion at the Hanoi summit, “freeze” could be accepted as an intermediate stage. However, it cannot be accepted as a final destination; thus, even considering the political situation of the U.S., the possibility of changing the route and a final stage as to “freeze” North Korea’s nuclear power is low.

In conclusion, the rumors in media, such as “the U.S. has tilted toward a more flexible approach,” or moreover, “the U.S. has switched the objective as to “freeze”,” do not seem accurate. Nothing has changed from the negotiations that broke down in Hanoi.