Former Director Lim: "Kim Jong-un Was Confident"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Dong-pyo] Former Presidential Chief of Staff Lim Jong-seok revealed behind-the-scenes stories of 10 months of dialogue on the Korean Peninsula, saying, "Kim Jong-un, Chairman of the State Affairs Commission of North Korea, had a very honest and confident character."

In an interview published in the summer issue of the quarterly magazine Creation and Criticism to mark the 20th anniversary of the June 15 North-South Joint Declaration, Lim explained the story from the April 27, 2018 inter-Korean summit to the Hanoi summit between North Korea and the U.S. in February 2019, recalling, "After the two leaders’ talks ended, the feeling was one of relief and expectation," and added, "(Chairman Kim) showed a very firm will to try to resolve issues with the President."

Regarding the unexpected May 26 Panmunjom meeting between the two leaders a month later, he described it as "unexpected." At that time, the successful April 27 inter-Korean summit had raised expectations for the first summit between U.S. President Donald Trump and Chairman Kim, while a power struggle continued between North Korea and the U.S.

Lim said, "President Trump was in a mood of 'I don’t care if we don’t meet,'" and added, "In that situation, I think the North urgently proposed the meeting to maintain momentum, and the President readily accepted it within a day."

Ultimately, the two inter-Korean summits led to the June 12 Singapore summit between the North Korean and U.S. leaders. Lim also shared an anecdote about President Trump’s decisiveness, which occurred right after National Security Office Director Chung Eui-yong’s visit to Pyongyang in March 2018 and his subsequent visit to the White House.

Lim recounted, "When Director Chung explained that 'Chairman Kim Jong-un has a clear intention for denuclearization and hopes to meet President Trump,' President Trump reportedly said to his aides, 'See? What did I tell you? That’s right.' Then, President Trump asked Director Chung, 'I’m good with it. I’m willing to meet. You go and hold a press conference,' and even personally went to the White House press room to announce Director Chung’s briefing."

Lim emphasized, "We must appreciate that President Trump tried to create something by overcoming tremendous internal opposition," and added, "President Moon also put in tremendous effort, hoping that Trump’s style could break through the reservations and opposition within the U.S."

Lim also revealed unexpected variables that arose ahead of the third inter-Korean summit, the September Pyongyang summit. He stressed that continuous communication took place between the two Koreas and between South Korea and the U.S. to reach military agreements at the September Pyongyang summit, but said, "Around that time, Steven Biegun was appointed as the U.S. Special Representative for North Korea and applied pressure."

He recalled, "He said to 'stop everything' until he understood the situation and gave the 'okay.' That was difficult for us to accept. The President pushed forward with the establishment of the liaison office and the military agreement between the two Koreas, and the agreements were finalized before Biegun arrived. Two days later, Biegun came to Korea."

Regarding the second North Korea-U.S. summit that ended with the Hanoi no-deal, Lim stated, "There was enough reason to have expectations from President Trump’s attitude."

However, he interpreted, "There was a politically pressured environment in the U.S. due to various scandals. Before going to Hanoi, pressure came from all sides?the U.S. Congress, government, and public opinion?that 'no deal' was better than a 'bad deal,' which I think ultimately prevented President Trump from moving forward."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.