(EDITORIAL from Korea JoongAng Daily on Aug. 20)

The Wall Street Journal has reported that U.S. President Donald Trump has instructed aides to pursue a summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un this fall. One potential location for the meeting is during Trump's trip to Asia for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Shenzhen, China, in November. Trump had previously sought a meeting with Kim during last year's APEC summit in Gyeongju, but it did not materialize.

In a possible preliminary step, Trump has announced a unilateral reduction in joint South Korea-U.S. military exercises, which were originally scheduled to end on Aug. 27. The timing of this potential summit is concerning, as Trump's approval rating has fallen to its lowest level of his term due to his failure to produce clear achievements in Ukraine, Gaza, and the war with Iran.

A summit with Kim could be intended as a political turnaround ahead of the November midterm elections. However, negotiations would take place in fundamentally different circumstances from Trump's first-term summits with Kim in 2018 and 2019, as North Korea has significantly advanced its nuclear capabilities, enshrined its nuclear-armed status in its Constitution, and strengthened its alignment with China and Russia.

Additionally, disagreements within the South Korea-U.S. alliance over major issues, such as the implementation of the joint trade and security fact sheet, the transfer of wartime operational control, and military support in the Strait of Hormuz, could complicate the summit. The South Korean government must ensure that Seoul's voice is reflected throughout preparations for any summit and during the talks themselves, requiring urgent coordination between Seoul and Washington on the various disputes currently straining the alliance.

The public should remain wary of treating summit diplomacy as a cure-all driven by the political calculations of either government, as the talks must ultimately serve the goal of North Korea's denuclearization.

Brief written by urgent.news from Yonhap News's own syndicated text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.