U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Vice Chairman of North Korea's ruling Workers' Party Central Committee Kim Yong-chol will meet in New York this week amid intensifying U.S.-North Korean summit preparations. / AFP

By Kim Bo-eun

Key North Korean and U.S. officials will meet in New York, Wednesday (local time), to possibly draw up the draft of an agreement on denuclearizing the North ahead of a summit between their leaders in Singapore, June 12.

Vice Chairman of the Central Committee of the North Korean Workers' Party Kim Yong-chol is set to meet with U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo Wednesday and Thursday to finalize the deal in which North Korea is expected to be guaranteed security in exchange for giving up its nuclear program.

Kim will visit the U.S. as the de-facto special envoy of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un. The official is reportedly carrying a letter from Kim Jong-un to U.S. President Donald Trump, and, if this is true, could fly to Washington to deliver it. This speculation is based on the fact that Trump said in his May 24 letter to Kim cancelling the summit not to hesitate to call or write if the North Korean leader wanted the meeting to take place.

Kim Yong-chol, considered Kim Jong-un's right-hand man, has been in charge of negotiations for the Pyongyang-Washington summit. He held meetings with Pompeo when the U.S. official visited Pyongyang in March and May.

Meanwhile, working-level talks that began Sunday at the truce village of Panmunjeom ended Wednesday between delegations led by the North's Vice Foreign Minister Choe Son-hui and U.S. Ambassador to the Philippines Sung Kim, who was a former ambassador to South Korea and a special envoy for the six party talks on North Korea's denuclearization.

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The White House said Tuesday the negotiations were going well and that the U.S. was prepared for the summit to take place, but did not specify the date. White House spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders stated denuclearization needs to be on the table for the summit to take place as planned.

"Since the president's May 24 letter to North Korean leader Kim, the North Koreans have been engaging with the U.S.," U.S. State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert said.

Trump had called off the summit with Kim in his letter, citing verbal provocations from North Korea. Pyongyang had taken issue with the White House's references to the "Libyan model" for denuclearization.

Cheong Wa Dae also evaluated the ongoing talks positively. "It appears they are going smoothly," an official said. He added that South Korea could join the North and U.S. for follow-up talks depending on the outcome of the bilateral summit.

The key to the denuclearization deal is seen to be the extent North Korea is willing to accept complete, verifiable and irreversible dismantlement (CVID) of its nuclear program.

Washington has maintained that Pyongyang should instantly dismantle its program while Pyongyang has stated it wants a phased process.

The U.S. may pressure North Korea to provide a timeline for the process, if it were to be phased, and North Korea may seek rewards such as economic incentives for a step-by-step implementation. The U.S. has stated it is willing to trade with and invest in North Korea on the condition of its complete denuclearization.

A meeting was also held in Singapore, Tuesday through Wednesday, to discuss protocol and security issues for the summit, which is likely to be held June 12 in the city state.

This was between the North's Kim Chang-son, chief secretary of the National Defense Commission Secretariat, and Joe Hagin, White House deputy chief of staff for operations.