Jeong Yeon-doo, head of the Foreign Ministry's Diplomatic Strategy Division and South Korea's chief nuclear envoy, held a briefing at the Korean Embassy in Washington D.C. on the 26th (local time). He told U.S. officials that "South Korea will continue to support the early realization of U.S.-North Korea dialogue as a pacemaker (mediator)."
A senior government official said, "There have been several dialogue attempts since the Hanoi summit, but no progress was made." The official added, "The U.S. side seems to have mentioned 'the door to dialogue' thinking that North Korea needs to respond."
As both the U.S. and North Korea signal openness to talks, attention is turning to whether President Donald Trump's visit to China from March 31 to April 2 could lead to a U.S.-North Korea summit.
Notably, Trump referred to North Korea as "a sort of nuclear power (a country possessing nuclear weapons)" in March and October last year, diverging from his working-level officials' views. This aligns with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un's condition of "respect for nuclear-state status." Trump has previously pursued talks with Kim through a top-down approach. One official said, "Even senior U.S. officials cannot predict Trump's intentions, but they seem to be preparing."
Forecasts are split on timing—some predict a meeting before Trump's China visit, while others suggest North Korea may push for talks afterward out of consideration for China.
However, no concrete U.S. efforts to improve relations have been detected so far. A senior government official told reporters in Washington D.C., "There is no new news such as working-level contacts between the U.S. and North Korea." The official noted, "The U.S. is maintaining its position of being 'open to dialogue,' but it doesn't seem to have reached the level of 'what needs to be done' for that."
U.S. working-level officials, firm on denuclearization principles, have fundamental differences with North Korea. A senior government official added, "Several senior U.S. officials have expressed that the spirit of the Singapore agreement is important." At the first U.S.-North Korea summit in Singapore in 2018, Kim and Trump agreed on "establishing new U.S.-North Korea relations," "building a peace regime on the Korean Peninsula," and "efforts toward complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula."