The summit meeting between President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has been tentatively arranged in Sweden in May. The main agenda will probably hinge around the nuclear ambitions of North Korea. Therefore, before the actual meeting, all the sides want to get themselves tuned to the same frequency to avoid any last minute hiccups.
According to Wall Street Journal, officials of North Korea, South Korea, and the United States are expected to hold unofficial talks in Finland prior to the actual summit. This has been indicated by Seoul’s foreign ministry who has not declared the probable dates or the identity of the attendees.
Tread with caution
Both Donald Trump and Kim Jong-un are unpredictable leaders, and their verbal exchanges had, in the past, led to heightened tensions in the Korean peninsula. Hence, officials are treading cautiously to ensure that the summit is a success. The American side perceives the meeting in Finland as an informal discussion between the United States, North Korea, and South Korea. Meetings of this nature are not new and have been held in the past.
The Finland angle appears to be the result of diplomatic efforts that have been witnessed recently. North Korean Foreign Minister Ri Yong Ho had been to Sweden where he met the prime minister. The visit was significant because Sweden maintains an embassy in Pyongyang and takes care of U.S.
diplomatic interests in the hermit kingdom. It has always been supportive of dialogues to resolve issues.
Is a solution likely to emerge?
Officials of South Korea have hinted that Kim Jong-un has expressed his willingness to discuss disarmament and work out methods to dismantle the inventory of atomic weapons held by North Korea.
Already, the United States and its allies Japan and South Korea have met in San Francisco to chalk out the best possible strategy in order to achieve complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula.
The nuclear ambitions of North Korea had reached dangerous levels and had triggered fears of a confrontation. It had launched ICBMs and claimed to have developed missiles that could target the American mainland.
It conducted its sixth nuclear-weapons test in September. However, on New Year’s Day, the North Korean leader reactivated the hotline that had been dormant for over two years. It was to send out a message of peace to his neighbor and the whole world. That was followed by the country’s participation in the 2018 Winter Olympics which has set the stage for the summit in Sweden.
