China marks 70 years of Communist Party rule on this October 1st and North Korea and China celebrate seven decades of diplomatic relations on the 6th of this month.
Speculations have been on the rise that North Korean leader Kim Jong-un would travel to China in time for that celebration ahead of the resumption of denuclearization talks with the U.S. and a possible third summit with U.S. President Donald Trump.
The dialogue momentum that appears to be picking up again - live in the studio with me to take a step further in is Dr. Steven Noerper, Senior Director for Policy at New York-based Korea Society and senior research scholar at Columbia University.
Dr. Noerper, welcome to the program.
Quite a shift from what we've been seeing in North Korea, U.S. denuclearization talks since the Trump, Kim Hanoi summit in the last couple of months - it appears that the dialogue momentum is again picking up between the two sides. As a U.S. North Korea policy expert of a long time, have you been picking up those signals from both Washington and Pyeongyang, as well?
As I mentioned as we opened our talk, there are speculations of an imminent trip to China by North Korean leader Kim Jong-un. How good of a chance is that for you and what does that say about Kim Jong-un's stance heading into negotiations with the United States?
If and when we see progress in working-level talks between Pyeongyang and Washington, do you foresee a third summit between Mr. Trump and Kim some time within this year? Could a D.C. or Pyeongyang meeting between the two a possibility?
It seems like the world has had its share of optics or show-and-tell kind of diplomacy when it comes to North Korea... and now we all know it's substance that matters. What does Washington need to see done by Pyeongyang or vice versa for a leaders' summit to take place OR once another summit does take place?
There have been concerns that the role of the South Korean president had been fading as we began to see direct correspondence between Pyeongyang and Washington. To a certain extent, South Korean President Moon Jae-in appears to have quelled those concerns by putting North Korea back on the global stage last week during his visit to New York. What role does Seoul have left to play here?
We are seeing this impeachment drama play out in Washington. Should we be concerned at all that this would take the focus away from other pressing regional issues like North Korea? Or that the North Korea, U.S. dialogue momentum that is heavily based on the personal chemistry between the two leaders may lose steam if there is a change in administration in Washington?
Steven Noerper, Senior Director for Policy at New York-based Korea Society and Professor at Columbia University... many thanks for making all the way to our studio this morning. We hope to have you again in the near future. Thank you.