South Korean officials in North to arrange new summit

North Korea has received a high-ranking South Korean presidential delegation in Pyongyang for talks to arrange anther inter-Korean summit this month, as talks between Washington and Pyongyang have stalled over disagreements on denuclearization.

The five-member delegation, led by South Korean President Moon Jae-in’s special envoy Chung Eui-yong, arrived in the North’s capital on Wednesday.

Chung said he planned to discuss ways to “completely denuclearize” the Korean Peninsula and establish “lasting peace.”

This is the same team that brokered a summit between the North’s leader Kim Jong-un and US President Donald Trump in Singapore in July.

It is not yet clear whether the South Korean delegation will meet Kim before flying back to the South later on Wednesday.

The delegates held a 20-minute meeting with senior North Korean officials Kim Yong-chol — who has been negotiating with the United States on nuclear issues — and Ri Son-gwon, the chairman of the North’s agency that handles inter-Korean affairs, at Pyongyang’s Koryo hotel.

According to Moon’s office, the South Korean president on Tuesday held a 50-minute telephone conversation with his American counterpart, during which Trump said he would be waiting for the South Korean envoy to bring good news from Pyongyang.

Trump has also expressed his hope for the success of the next inter-Korean summit.

Earlier, the US president had cited a lack of progress in talks with the North to cancel a visit by his point man for the North Korea dossier, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.

Specifics have been scarce about the South Korean delegation’s visit to the North, and some observers have been speculating about its purpose.

“The envoy (Chung) is believed to be carrying a proposal that Kim give a firm commitment to presenting a list of nuclear weapons and fissile materials demanded by the US in return for a declaration of the end of the Korean War,” Yang Moo-jin of the University of North Korean Studies was quoted by AFP as saying.

Trump and Kim made a broad agreement on denuclearization at the Singapore summit in June, but sanctions meant to punish Pyongyang for its nuclear and missile programs still remain in place.

Those talks are now stalled due to disagreements between the two sides, with Pyongyang accusing the US of obstructing inter-Korean talks as well.

The leaders of the two Koreas first met at a historic summit at the border village of Panmunjom in the Demilitarized Zone back in April. They held a second meeting in May.

The US joined that diplomacy only later, including with the Trump-Kim summit.

While inter-Korean engagement has been proceeding more successfully, US-North Korean talks have stalled.