[Door Opens for NK-US Dialogue] A Separate Message from Kim Jong-un Probably on "NK Human Rights"

When Chung Eui-yong, head of the Cheong Wa Dae National Security Office and Suh Hoon, director of the National Intelligence Service (NIS) met with U.S. President Donald Trump, it appears there was another message aside from the proposal for a summit by Kim Jong-un, chairman of North Korea's State Affairs Commission. Experts believe it could be a message on human rights in North Korea, which has been under fire from the U.S. and the international community.

On March 9 (local time), a senior government official met with correspondents in Washington D.C. and said, "There was a special message that Chairman Kim asked to give to President Trump," but added, "We can't release every message exchanged by the state leaders." The official simply said, "It was an effort to build trust in order to hold the summit meeting" and "The message was very comprehensive."

The undisclosed message of Chairman Kim may concern the human rights situation in North Korea. Since Chairman Kim's proposal for a summit between North Korea and the U.S., his willingness to discuss denuclearization, and his plans of a moratorium on nuclear and missile tests have already been disclosed, the only topic left is human rights in North Korea. The international community's criticism of North Korea's human rights has been the biggest concern for Pyongyang, since the possibility of Chairman Kim being referred to the International Criminal Court (ICC) was raised after the United Nations adopted a report by the Commission of Inquiry (COI) in 2014. The U.S. government has since raised the issue of human rights as a premise for restoring relations with North Korea along with denuclearization.

The Trump administration focused on this issue after Otto Warmbier, an American college student, died after being detained and released by North Korea last year. President Trump devoted most of his speech before the National Assembly in South Korea last November on this issue and also highlighted this as a key issue in his State of the Union address.

Vice President Mike Pence's actions when he attended the opening ceremony of the PyeongChang Winter Olympics last month also focused on this issue, with the exception of his congratulatory message.

North Korea fought back by mentioning human rights in the United States. Thus if North Korea did make a suggestion on human rights, it is likely for future talks between North Korea and the U.S. to discuss human rights.

North Korea has engaged in talks on human rights with Europe, but it has refused such talks with the U.S. In addition to human rights issues, North Korea may have proposed to discuss humanitarian issues between the two countries, such as the excavation of the remains of U.S. soldiers missing in North Korean territory at the time of the Korean War and the separated families residing in the U.S. In the process, the two countries may discuss the release of three American citizens including Kim Dong-chul, a Korean-American detained in North Korea.

Yang Moo-jin, a professor at the University of North Korean Studies said, "Since North Korea already talked about denuclearization, the only issue that President Trump would be interested in from the perspective of domestic politics in the U.S. is human rights."

Other suggestions include a possible statement acknowledging the presence of the U.S. Forces in Korea.

Hong Min, the director of North Korean studies at the Korea Institute for National Unification explained, "When the two countries discuss denuclearization and a peace system, the problem of the U.S. Forces in Korea is bound to come up."

Cheong Wa Dae did not confirm any details.

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