South Korea’s National Security Advisor Wi Sung-lac said on Friday that the possibility of President Donald Trump attending the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in Gyeongju this October has increased.
During an appearance on CBS Radio’s Kim Hyun-jung’s News Show, Wi stated that the likelihood of Kim Jong Un attending is low. He explained that North Korea currently does not appear inclined to engage in dialogue with South Korea or the U.S.
Wi noted that realistically, it may be more constructive not to set the expectations for dialogue excessively high. However, he added that its making efforts toward dialogue, and President Trump’s response has been positive and he seems willing to engage.
He emphasized that the key is that North Korea needs to respond, but right now, they are adopting a very passive and negative attitude. Further noting that raising the expectations too high may not help provoke a response from them.
Wi suggested that rather than setting the expectations too high, it’s better to remain calm and wait for North Korea’s response as it comes.
Regarding the recent U.S.-South Korea summit, Wi stated that it had more meaningful discussions about cooperation in the nuclear field than before. He noted that while the U.S. has raised the issue of additional agricultural market openings, it is maintaining the basic stance.
Wi explained that cooperation in the nuclear field is progressing across various areas, including expanding South Korea’s operational space in third-country regions as well as in enrichment and reprocessing. He added that it has made significant progress and will have opportunities to report to the public.
He continued that there are also discussions about the possibility of lifting restrictions in sensitive countries, but achieving short-term results is not easy, so it is prioritizing other issues.
Wi concluded that the area with the most substantial outcomes is the shipbuilding industry, followed by cooperation in advanced technology fields such as nuclear energy, artificial intelligence (AI), and semiconductors. Further noting that this could be considered the fourth pillar of the alliance.