Questions mount over ‘results’ and ‘satisfactory agreement’ from envoys’ NK trip

As President Moon Jae-in’s special envoys to the North wrap up their visit, speculations are rising over the words exchanged with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un.

South Korean officials have remained quiet on the matter, providing only cryptic comments.

A high-level Cheong Wa Dae official told reporters early Tuesday that the envoys’ meeting with Kim “produced results,” and that as far as he is aware the results are “not disappointing.”

Asked whether the South Korean raised the topic of the process of denuclearization, the official said on condition of anonymity “that is likely.” 

Meanwhile, North Korean media reports hinted at agreement on substantial issues.

“The supreme leader received President Moon Jae-in’s intentions on (an inter-Korean) leaders’ meeting and reached a satisfactory agreement,” the Korean Central News Agency reported Tuesday.

The news agency also reported that Kim gave “firm orders” to concerned North Korean state organs to take related steps.

“The supreme leader spoke frankly about improving inter-Korean relations, and ensuring peace on the Korean Peninsula with the South’s special envoys,” the news outlet said, adding that “in-depth discussions for diverse inter-Korean contact and dialogue” took place.

However, pundits say that a dramatic change in the North’s stance is unlikely.

Despite a recent thaw in inter-Korean relations, the two Koreas and the US appear to remain far apart on key issues.

Kim Yong-chol, vice chairman of the North’s ruling Workers’ Party, is reported to have reiterated Pyongyang’s position that Seoul and Washington must end military drills while he was in the South last month for the closing ceremony of the PyeongChang Olympics.

North Korea has also repeatedly stated that its nuclear program is not for discussion with the US. North Korea’s state-run newspaper Rodong Shinmun repeated the claims Tuesday, saying that its nuclear weapons were a “sword of justice to forever sweep the nuclear devil from the planet,” referring to the US as the “nuclear devil.”

By Choi He-suk (cheesuk@heraldcorp.com)