To have look at this announcement a bit further, and to take a look at some other issues of
the day, we have Professor Shin Sang-hyup from Kyunghee University here in the studio
with us.
Professor Shin, thank you for joining us.
My pleasure.
1 - So in the report we just played there, we looked into the details of why Singapore
was chosen as the location for this important meeting.
Our reporter Oh Junghee explained that Singapore is a neutral country, with diplomatic relations
with both North Korea and the U.S., it's close enough for Kim Jong-un to fly to directly,
and it has the infrastructure to support this kind of major international event.
How do you rate the choice?
2 - Are there any disadvantages of it being held in Singapore?
Do you think there might be any security concerns?
3 - The date is set for June 12th.
That's just over a month from now.
Is that enough time to get all details for the negotiations in place?
And can we expect a deal on denuclearization?
4 - Of course, we will keep watch over all the developments leading up to the summit
over the next few weeks.
Now professor, I want to move on to another topic to discuss with you today.
And that's the U.S.-China trade talks.
Last week in Beijing, we had the first round of talks, but that ended without much progress.
This has sparked concerns that a trade war is inevitable.
First can you explain to our viewers what this trade dispute is about and what the two
sides want from each other
5 - Beijing's commerce ministry gave a very bullish statement this week, saying that it
has no intention of changing its stance.
Washington has also said there is still a big gap in their positions, but added that
there is hope for progress.
Even if a perfect deal cannot be met, can at least the differences be narrowed to avoid
a trade war?
6 - Next week, it's the second round of talks, and it's the Beijing officials' turn to go
to Washington.
Do you think something substantial could come out of that, or will there have
to be further rounds of talks?
7 - Amid all these trade talks, the situation with North Korea continues to develop as well.
Trump in the past had openly suggested that if China helped deal with North Korea, he
might be more willing to make concessions on trade.
Now that was quite a while back, and
things have changed somewhat since then, but could the North Korea factor play a role in
the trade talks?
8 - If trade talks do not go China's way, could Beijing influence Kim Jong-un to be
more difficult with Trump?
9 - The U.S. and China are South Korea's biggest trading partners, and so anything that happens
between them will likely have an impact on South Korea as well.
What would a trade war between those two superpowers mean
for Korea?
Unfortunately that's all we have time for today, Professor.
Thank you for sharing your thoughts with us, and
hope to see
you
again soon.