By Chang Dong-woo
WASHINGTON, Oct. 22 (Yonhap) -- The prospects of a summit between U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un in the near future remain slim, U.S. experts said, citing Pyongyang's demands for a shift in Washington's policy toward the North, including its approach to denuclearization.
Jenny Town, a senior fellow at the Stimson Center, and Ankit Panda, a nuclear policy expert at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, offered their assessments during a podcast discussion hosted by Victor Cha, Korea chair at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), published Thursday.
Town said the North has made clear that they reject the notion of any kind of denuclearization agenda.
"The question isn't, 'Will North Korea come to the table?' The question is, 'Is the U.S. willing to do those things (change its North Korean policy)?'" she said, referring to North Korea's demands for changes in what it considers Washington's hostile policy.
"I think the prospects of meeting, you know, I think are fairly low," she added, putting the likelihood of a meeting at less than 50 percent.
Panda offered a more pessimistic assessment of the possibility of a summit on the sidelines of next month's Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in China, putting the chances at below 10 percent.
"I think it's just getting too late," he said, adding, "I think the president's going to be distracted after the midterms, which seems to be the only thing on his mind," while suggesting that Pyongyang was seeking a clear public signal from Trump indicating a change in U.S. policy.
However, Panda said there was still time for a summit before Trump leaves office, suggesting that the president's next State of the Union address could provide an opportunity to publicly outline a new approach toward the North.
Trump has repeatedly expressed interest in engaging with Kim again, citing their "good" personal relationship, fueling speculation about a possible meeting during the president's planned visit to China next month.
The two leaders had three in-person meetings during Trump's first term: the first in Singapore in June 2018, the second in Hanoi in February 2019 and the third at the inter-Korean border village of Panmunjom.
This AP file photo shows U.S. President Donald Trump (L) and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un smiling before a summit meeting at the Sofitel Legend Metropole Hanoi on February 27, 2019. (Yonhap)
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