On Tuesday, Prime Minister Kim Min-seok expressed his hope that North Korean leader Kim Jong Un would engage in some form of meeting with the U.S., the international community, or South Korea before the end of this year. This could be either in conjunction with or separate from the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit.
During a parliamentary Q&A session on foreign affairs, unification, and security at the National Assembly in Seoul, Prime Minister Kim responded to Democratic Party lawmaker Kim Byeong-joo’s inquiry regarding potential invitations to North Korea for the APEC summit, clarifying that no specific proposals had been made.
The Prime Minister referenced last month’s summit between President Lee Jae-myung and President Donald Trump, noting that President Lee had broached the subject of a meeting with Chairman Kim. He described this as an indirect, public, and international suggestion that also conveyed South Korea’s expectations.
When Prime Minister Kim proposed sending a special envoy to North Korea in coordination with the U.S. to encourage APEC summit attendance, the Prime Minister agreed to discuss such ideas.
Responding to the lawmaker’s suggestion regarding a global peace declaration at the APEC summit, Prime Minister Kim revealed that preparations were underway for such an initiative.
Regarding the attendance of President Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping at the APEC summit, he stated that preparations were proceeding under the assumption of their participation, expressing optimism about their attendance barring any unforeseen circumstances.
When People Power Party member Kim Seung-soo raised concerns about the frequency of visits by State Council members to North Korea, the Prime Minister dismissed the inquiry as invalid, sharply questioning how such an approach differed from the rhetoric that labeled all opposition to the Yoon Suk Yeol administration as anti-state forces, and drawing a parallel to coup-justifying logic.