High-Level US-China Talks in Hawaii on the 17th... North Korea Issue Expected to Be Discussed

Vegan Deputy Secretary of State Also Attends Talks
Promoting North Korea Risk Management Alongside Broad US-China Conflict Dialogue

[Asia Economy New York=Correspondent Baek Jong-min] The foreign ministers of the United States and China will hold a high-level bilateral meeting in Hawaii on the 17th. As this is the first high-level face-to-face negotiation between the two countries since the outbreak of the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19), the outcome is attracting attention.

Notably, Steven Biegun, the U.S. Deputy Secretary of State and Special Representative for North Korea, is also expected to accompany the delegation, raising the possibility that North Korea-related issues will be discussed.

[Image source=Reuters Yonhap News]

According to the Associated Press on the 16th, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Deputy Secretary Biegun will stay in Hawaii from the 16th to the 17th and will meet the Chinese delegation led by Politburo member Yang Jiechi on the 17th.

The AP reported that the meeting will be held behind closed doors and will broadly address conflict issues between the two countries.

The AP evaluated that Deputy Secretary Biegun’s attendance, who also serves as the Special Representative for North Korea, suggests that the stalled North Korea-U.S. denuclearization talks will be on the agenda. Given that North Korea has recently expressed a hardline stance toward South Korea day after day and escalated tensions by blowing up the Kaesong inter-Korean liaison office, the U.S. side may intend to manage North Korea’s provocations through China.

The direct face-to-face meetings between high-level officials of the two countries have been suspended since mid-January when President Trump and Chinese Vice Premier Liu He met at the White House and signed the Phase One trade agreement. Since then, relations between the two countries, which were expected to improve, have instead worsened daily due to issues such as the COVID-19 outbreak responsibility debate and the Hong Kong national security law.

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