Nuclear Talks Stall

[Anchor Lead]

Negotiations between Washington and Pyongyang appear to have stalled as U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo cancelled a visit to North Korea scheduled for this week. Experts say the reason why is that there is a mismatch of expectations for the denuclearization talks. The South Korean government plans to hold the third inter-Korean summit as scheduled in order to gain some momentum for solving the stalemate.​

[Pkg]

Seoul has reconfirmed that it will hold the third inter-Korean summit slated for September in Pyongyang as planned. The South Korean government believes that the upcoming summit will play an even larger role in garnering a breakthrough in the stalled denuclearization talks between the United States and North Korea, which resulted from the cancellation of U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo's visit to Pyongyang.

[Soundbite] Kang Kyung-hwa (Minister of Foreign Affairs) : "The president will visit Pyongyang in September no matter what. We believe that the summit will play an important role as a follow-up measure of the Panmunjeom meeting and that the U.S. will understand it."

However, the U.S. State Department has insinuated that developing inter-Korean relations without progress in the denuclearization talks may impact Washington's collaboration with Seoul. The South Korean government seeks not only to improve its relations with the North, but to also narrow the differences in perspectives between Seoul and Washington.

[Soundbite] Chung Sung-jang (Sejong Institute) : "It remains to be seen if any detailed agreements will be reached, but a failure to produce tangible results on denuclearization at the summit could trigger criticism at home and abroad."

A government source said that Cheong Wa Dae has reportedly moved the meeting preparing for the summit from the first week of September to the second week. Seoul will likely slow down preparations for the upcoming summit and take a more prudent stance due to the stalemate in the denuclearization talks between the United States and North Korea.