북미 간 협상 막바지, 뉴욕 담판 주목 - 봉영식 박사 대담

Joining us in the studio to discuss this meeting further is Dr. Bong Young-shik, from the Yonsei Institute for North Korean Studies. Thank you for coming in today.

Pleasure to be here.

1 - Kim Yong Chol has landed in New York. He has met with U.S. Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo, and they have had dinner together. It was just a pre-meeting before the main talks on Thursday, but what do you think they talked about? Do you think they would have talked substance or was it more likely just pleasantries?

2 - How do you think the main talks on Thursday will go? The denuclearization issue still needs to be resolved, but do you think progress has been made?

2a - There are some watchers who say that the details of the summit and denuclearization agreement have been sorted out at the working-level talks that have been going on in Panmunjom over the last few days, and that Kim Yong-chol would not have gone to New York unless they were satisfied with what came from those talks. Is Kim's trip a good sign that a deal has been reached?

3 - It's been reported that Kim Yong-chol has a letter from Kim Jong-un for Donald Trump. What do you think is in it and do you think he will be given the opportunity to go to the White House to hand the letter to Trump in person?

4 - There is still no confirmation that the summit will go ahead on June 12th in Singapore as previously scheduled. Do you think they are on track to be able to do so? Or could it be delayed?

4a - Do you think they would be willing to postpone the summit to reach a better deal or does their desire to meet outweigh that need? In other words, for the two leaders, is the meeting itself more important than the denuclearization?

5 - There is continuing speculation that the North Korea-U.S. summit will lead directly to a three-way summit involving South Korea as well. Do you expect that to happen?

6 - Where does China fit in all this? They have shown signs that they won't sit idly by and are looking to get involved. What kind of reaction can we expect from Beijing?

7 - Reports have emerged that there are plans in the works for a trilateral summit between North Korea, China and Russia before the North Korea-U.S. summit. Does that sound like something which could happen?

8 - Russia's foreign minister Sergei Lavrov is meeting with North Korean officials in Pyongyang today. What do you think that is about?

9 - Japan is also said to be looking for a summit with North Korea at some point. The North Korea situation has brought about a whole flurry of diplomatic activity. It shows the complex geopolitical network and repercussions in dealing with North Korea, and perhaps suggests we should expect a lot more bumps down the road as the situation progresses. Would you agree?

We're out of time, so we'll have to end it there. Thank you for coming in today.