미일 정상은 대북 압박, 중러는 북미관계 정상화에 무게... 주변국 잇단 한반도 논의

With the nuclear talks between Washington and Pyeongyang now at a standstill, the two sides seem to be turning to their respective allies... in an apparent move to ramp up pressure on each other.
But would that help in moving things forward?
Our Lee Ji-won heard from experts for some clues.
Russian President Vladimir Putin met with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un for the first time last Thursday, and the next day met with Chinese President Xi Jinping at the One Belt One Road forum in Beijing.
Among the many issues they covered, was of course, North Korea's denuclearization.
"We exchanged views on the situation on the Korean Peninsula as always. We need to address fundamental issues, at least, and move forward towards creating conditions that would be sufficient for North Korea in terms of its security."
They did not discuss any new plans, Putin said, but he referred to a need for the U.S. to create the conditions under which the North would be willing to denuclearize.
President Xi seemed to back Putin, praising what he called the Russian leader's "historic contribution" to their mutual trust and cooperation.
Meanwhile, the U.S. and Japan are boasting of their own close cooperation, especially on North Korea.
Citing the U.S. Ambassador to Japan, William Hagerty, Reuters reports that in their meeting last week, Trump and Prime Minister Abe discussed their joint efforts to enforce sanctions on the North.
The two leaders also reportedly commented on Japan possibly taking a bigger role in negotiations over the Korean Peninsula's security.
Abe himself said in a press conference after the summit that Japan too will play an active role in denuclearizing the Korean Peninsula.
Abe also quoted President Trump as saying he will get fully behind a summit between North Korea and Japan... to solve the issue of Japanese nationals abducted by the regime.
President Putin has suggested reviving the Six-Party Talks once some progress is made, but it seems those countries are already divided, 3 against 3.
With the atmosphere like this, a North Korea expert says the current standstill will probably last even longer.
"The recent summits did not bring in new variables. It could've been significant if Russia or China had cut off their support for the North, or if Japan had convinced the U.S. to back down on its pressure campaign. But with both sides simply solidifying their support, North Korea and the U.S. will only entrench where they are."

The expert said there is not much South Korea can do at the moment either, and that for now,... all anyone can do is to simply try to keep the door to dialogue open.
Lee Ji-won, Arirang News.