Political Activities

[Anchor Lead]

This week is slated for major political events associated with the Korean Peninsula. President Moon Jae-in is to meet with his American counterpart Donald Trump in Washington, and North Korea is to hold the Supreme People's Assembly. How these events go will likely determine whether the gridlocked denuclearization talks could resume any time soon.

[Pkg]

The first round of the N. Korea's Supreme People's Assembly is scheduled for Apr. 11. Kim Jong-un's new administration will launch with some 680 Assembly members in attendance to decide on major budget plans and personnel appointments.

[Soundbite] (Korean Central TV(N. Korea)) : "We notify the members of the Supreme People's Assembly that the first round of the 14th Supreme People's Assembly will be convened in Pyongyang on April 11, 2019."

Around the time of this Assembly, the regime's leader may announce his post-Hanoi summit vision to Washington and the world. U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo considers the Supreme People's Assembly a very important event to keep an eye on, and plans to keep a close watch on Kim's message to his people.

[Soundbite] Mike Pompeo (U.S. Secretary of State)

Immediately after that event, South Korean President Moon Jae-in will meet with his American counterpart Donald Trump in Washington on the 11th, eastern standard time. It remains to be seen if President Trump would seek one big, sweeping nuclear disarmament deal with Pyongyang, like he has done at his summit with Kim in Hanoi, or exercise pragmatic flexibility again. While the U.S. is still adamant about a full and complete denuclearization, President Moon plans to explain his so-called "good-enough deal" at the summit and gain Washington's tacit approval for it. Seoul's idea entails both North Korea and America taking a step back to make concessions. Some experts project that special envoys to the hermit kingdom or other discreet means maybe employed to find common ground with Pyongyang around the time of the Moon-Trump summit.