Preparatory Negotiations

[Anchor Lead]

A phone call between President Moon Jae-in and his American counterpart Donald Trump appears to be imminent. A Cheong Wa Dae official met with U.S. Special Representative for North Korea Stephen Biegun, to hear about the outcomes of the preparatory negotiations between the U.S. and North Korea, and announced that the upcoming summit is progressing well in the general sense.

[Pkg]

President Moon Jae-in and his American counterpart Donald Trump are due to exchange their thoughts ahead of the second North Korea-U.S. summit. The presidential office of Cheong Wa Dae announced that the two leaders plan to talk about the matter shortly, reflecting the close cooperation between the two countries. The date of the interaction will have to be announced. But the two are likely to talk over the phone. Collaboration between Seoul and Washington is picking up speed as South Korean Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha will also sit down with U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo for minister-level talks. Cheong Wa Dae also released the schedule for follow-up working meetings between North Korea and the United States. The two sides reportedly agreed to hold further talks during the week of February 17th at a third country in Asia. The venue is likely to be Hanoi, Vietnam since the second summit is only a week away. Also, the presidential office said that the preparatory talks were a good opportunity to "map out a set of concrete deliverables" rather than finding out what to give and take. That appears to indicate that the two sides failed to reach a concrete agreement, yet gained complete understanding of each other's position. South Korean National Security Director Chung Eui-yong, who had met U.S. envoy Biegun on Saturday said that "the North Korea-U.S. summit is progressing well in the general sense." The South Korean presidential office also assured that Seoul and Washington have no differing opinions on the issue of denuclearization.