Seoul spy agency says Kim may have signaled stance on US talks during China trip
South Korea's intelligence service says North Korean leader Kim Jong Un may have conveyed Pyongyang's position on talks with Washington during his China visit, weeks before the APEC summit.
Archive image · Photo: The Presidential Press and Information Office / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 4.0 (cropped and resized)
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un may have conveyed his country's position on potential talks with the United States during his recent visit to China, South Korea's National Intelligence Service said Thursday, according to two lawmakers briefed at a closed-door parliamentary intelligence committee session in Seoul. During his one-day trip to the border city of Dandong, Kim met senior Chinese official Wang Huning.
The NIS pointed to the fact that Kim was accompanied by diplomats, including Foreign Minister Choe Son Hui, rather than military officials. It said China could relay Kim's stance to Washington but did not appear intent on actively mediating. The two sides have yet to narrow differences over conditions for dialogue, the agency said, though it did not rule out a shift before or after the APEC summit in Shenzhen, China, in November.
U.S. President Donald Trump is expected to attend the summit and has expressed interest in resuming talks with Kim. The NIS also said Pyongyang is gradually cementing the status of Kim's daughter, Ju Ae, as his likely successor.