South Korea’s presidential office said on Oct. 27 that a meeting between former U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korea’s Mr Kim during this week’s APEC gathering is very unlikely, citing a lack of concrete information, even as Mr Trump said he remained open to such a meeting in remarks made ahead of the summit. The comment from presidential spokesperson Oh Hyun-joo came amid ongoing media speculation and stalled trade talks between Seoul and Washington.
Oh made the assessment as leaders prepared to gather in Gyeongju, North Gyeongsang Province for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation meeting. Mr Trump told reporters in a press briefing aboard Air Force One on the eve of the gathering that he was open to meeting Mr Kim, remarks that fueled reporting about a possible encounter on the sidelines of APEC. Oh, however, stressed on Oct. 27 that officials had no concrete information pointing to such a meeting taking place during the summit, and described the prospect as very unlikely.
The comments come against the backdrop of continued friction between South Korea and the United States over elements of a preliminary trade pact reached in July. Negotiators from both countries have held three rounds of talks this month but remain deadlocked over the details of a US$350 billion investment package that is part of that preliminary agreement. According to negotiators, the lack of agreement on the investment package has prevented finalisation of the wider deal.
Seoul has said it remains prepared to make arrangements if a meeting becomes necessary, but Oh also indicated that President Lee Jae-myung does not believe South Korea must participate in any U.S.-North Korea meeting and that Washington has not asked Seoul to arrange such a meeting. That stance underscores a cautious approach by South Korea, which faces competing diplomatic and economic pressures at a summit where multiple high-level bilateral meetings are expected.
Timing around APEC is complicating efforts to close the trade negotiations, officials say. Mr Trump is scheduled to meet President Lee on the sidelines of the summit, and Oh noted that the current state of negotiations made it unlikely that the outstanding issues would be resolved during the short window of the gathering. The unresolved investment package stands as a central obstacle to formalising the preliminary July accord, and negotiators will need additional time and engagement to bridge their differences.
For now, uncertainty surrounds both the possibility of any U.S.-North Korea encounter at APEC and the near-term prospects for concluding the trade discussions. Seoul’s public statements emphasize readiness to respond if requested but also signal that no arrangements have been made at Washington’s request for South Korea to facilitate a meeting between Mr Trump and Mr Kim. With leaders converging on Gyeongju, the summit’s compressed schedule and competing bilateral agendas are likely to limit opportunities for last-minute breakthroughs.
What happens next will depend on decisions in Washington and Pyongyang, and on the ability of South Korean and U.S. negotiators to make progress on the investment package outside the summit’s timeframe. President Lee’s scheduled meeting with Mr Trump offers a forum for high-level discussion, but officials on Oct. 27 indicated that resolving the trade impasse or arranging a U.S.-North Korea meeting during APEC remains unlikely given the current information and negotiating status.