South Korea‘s presidential office said on Thursday that it sees little chance of contact between the United States and North Korea around the upcoming APEC summit in China, or of Pyongyang taking part in APEC related events. The North Korea US contact unlikely APEC assessment cools expectations of a diplomatic breakthrough on the sidelines of the gathering, which will bring the region‘s leaders together in Shenzhen next week. Hopes of a meeting between the two sides are fading fast.
United States President Donald Trump is seeking to revive talks with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, but American and South Korean officials see the chances of a meeting this year slipping away. Trump has spoken warmly of his past meetings with Kim, yet no new encounter has been arranged, and the calendar is running short. The North Korea US contact unlikely APEC message from Seoul suggests that the summit in Shenzhen will not provide the opening that some had hoped for.
A senior South Korean presidential official said no additional North Korean activity had been detected in the demilitarised zone, beyond preparations for possible loudspeaker broadcasts. Kim Yo Jong, the powerful sister of Kim Jong Un, had announced last month that her country was considering resuming propaganda loudspeaker broadcasts near the inter-Korean border, raising tension with Seoul. The broadcasts, if resumed, would mark a return to a form of psychological warfare that both sides had moved away from.
North Korea US contact unlikely APEC as border tension rises
Seoul says North Korean mines laid during fortification work in the DMZ caused an explosion in September that seriously injured several of its soldiers. Pyongyang denies any responsibility and calls the claim a South Korean fabrication. The North Korea US contact unlikely APEC picture is therefore set against a backdrop of distrust on the border itself, where mines, loudspeakers and fortifications have replaced dialogue as the language of the two Koreas.
Seoul is also watching for the possible presence of Russian President Vladimir Putin at the Shenzhen summit next week, with diplomatic topics to discuss with Moscow. A trilateral summit of the United States, China and Russia on the sidelines of APEC could offer a chance to discuss North Korea, according to the South Korean official. The North Korea US contact unlikely APEC outlook does not rule out diplomacy entirely, but it shifts the focus from a direct meeting to talks among the major powers.
Shenzhen summit brings Trump and Xi together again
The APEC leaders summit will be held in Shenzhen, China, next week, and Trump is due to meet Chinese President Xi Jinping for the third time this year. The two leaders have already met twice this year, and their third meeting will be watched closely for signs of progress on trade, technology and regional security. That meeting will be the centrepiece of the summit, covering trade, technology and regional security. The North Korea US contact unlikely APEC assessment means the Trump Xi meeting is unlikely to be overshadowed by a surprise encounter with Kim, even if North Korea comes up in their conversation.
For South Korea, the message is one of realism. The presidential office is lowering expectations rather than raising them, a sign that its own contacts with Pyongyang have produced little to build on. The verdict reflects months of stalemate, in which Pyongyang has shown no interest in returning to talks and Washington has found no opening to exploit, despite repeated signals that the door remains open.
The coming week will still be watched closely. APEC summits have produced surprises before, and leaders can change plans at short notice. But on the evidence available on Thursday, the North Korea US contact unlikely APEC forecast looks firm: no handshake in Shenzhen, no North Korean delegation at the summit, and a diplomatic freeze that is likely to last into next year, leaving the peninsula’s tensions unresolved.