The main focus of the 80th anniversary celebration of Victory Day (commemorating the triumph in the Anti-Japanese War and the global anti-fascist victory) in Beijing, China on Wednesday will be whether National Assembly Speaker Woo Won-shik will encounter Kim Jong Un, the General Secretary of North Korea’s Workers’ Party.
While the general consensus is that the chances are slim, the possibility of a meeting isn’t entirely off the table. Analysts suggest that if a brief encounter does occur, it could potentially jumpstart the Lee Jae-myung government’s efforts to improve inter-Korean relations.
According to the National Assembly on August 31, Speaker Woo is set to depart for China on Tuesday to attend the 80th anniversary military parade at Tiananmen Square on Wednesday. He will be joined by Democratic Party lawmakers Park Ji-won, Kim Tae-nyeon, Park Jeong, and Hong Gi-won, as well as Kim Jun-hyung from the Rebuilding Korea Party. Kim Seong-won from the People Power Party, who was initially scheduled to attend, has withdrawn. In addition, members of the National Assembly’s Korea-China Parliamentary Friendship Association are also expected to participate.
Sources from the National Assembly and diplomatic circles indicate that Speaker Woo and Kim are expected to be in the same location on at least two occasions. The first will be at the watchtower overlooking the parade, and the second at a reception hosted by President Xi Jinping immediately following the event.
The seating arrangement at the watchtower during the parade is crucial. China has invited leaders from 26 countries, including Kim, Russian President Vladimir Putin, Vietnamese President Vo Van Thuong, and Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev. These dignitaries will observe the parade from the front row alongside President Xi.
The Chinese government is expected to position the leaders based on their countries’ relationships and importance, with speculation that both President Putin and Kim will stand next to President Xi.
However, as Speaker Woo is not a head of state, he is likely to be positioned at the end of the line, making a meeting at the watchtower improbable. Park Ji-won commented that there’s speculation about a potential meeting between Speaker Woo and Chairman Kim, but it’s uncertain due to the unpredictable nature of Kim’s movements.
During the 70th anniversary celebration in 2015, then-President Park Geun-hye and Choe Ryong Hae, a member of North Korea’s Central Political Bureau, were both present at the watchtower but were seated far apart, resulting in no interaction. Consequently, if an encounter does occur, the reception venue, where movement is less restricted, is seen as the most likely location. Woo Sang-ho, the Chief of Staff to the President, speculated that perhaps they could exchange brief greetings at the reception.
In fact, Speaker Woo attended the 2018 inter-Korean summit dinner as the floor leader of the Democratic Party and had a standing conversation with Kim. During that meeting, Woo mentioned his family in North Korea, to which Kim reportedly responded that he would do his best to alleviate their pain.
The Speaker’s office acknowledged that while Woo’s visit to China is drawing significant global attention, they aim to focus on managing South Korea-China relations, which was the original purpose of the trip.
Nevertheless, they are keeping all possibilities open and preparing for various scenarios. Even if a meeting between the two leaders doesn’t materialize, they believe it remains important to engage with other high-ranking North Korean officials expected to attend. The Presidential Office, aware of Kim’s visit to China in advance, has been collaborating closely with individuals well-versed in inter-Korean and South Korea-China relations, including Speaker Woo and Park.
Park shared two photos of himself with Kim and Kim Yo-jong, a deputy director of the Workers’ Party, on Facebook on August 30, expressing his desire to meet them again. In a phone interview with News1, he stated that he’s actually intending to try and meet him, adding that given the past connections, it would be difficult for him to refuse if he ask to meet.
An official from the Speaker’s office mentioned in a call that since it’s unprecedented for North Korea’s supreme leader to attend a multilateral event, they are considering response plans through various channels based on possible scenarios. They remained cautious about the possibility of contact between Speaker Woo and Kim.
