And to tell us more about this,... Professor Song Se-ryun from Kyung Hee University joins us in the studio today.<br />Hello professor.<br /><br /> Great to be here.<br /><br /> <br /> 1- Ahead of the inter-Korean summit next week... South Korea and the U.S. seem to be stepping up bilateral cooperation to hold successful summits with North Korea.<br />In fact, South Korea's national security adviser Chung Eui-yong met with his American counterpart John Bolton for the first time over in the U.S. How important is this kind of cooperation right now?<br /><br /> <br /> 2- Just last week, Japanese foreign minister Taro Kono visited Korea to meet with President Moon Jae-in, and this week, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is expected to meet with President Trump.<br />So what is Japan hoping to achieve by emphasizing the importance of a U.S.-South Korea-Japan alliance?<br /><br /> <br /> 3- China and North Korea, meanwhile, seem to be taking their relationship to a whole new level ahead of North Korea's summits with South Korea and the U.S. <br />Last week, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un met with top Chinese diplomat Song Tao, who visited Pyongyang with a Chinese art troupe... and some are forecasting that Chinese President Xi Jinping may visit Pyongyang as early as June.<br />What can we make of China-North Korea relations at this point?<br /><br /> <br /> 4- Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi also visited Japan to meet with his Japanese counterpart one-on-one... with Tokyo stepping up efforts to avoid the so-called 'Japan passing' amid ongoing global diplomacy over North Korea.<br />What came out of their meeting? And is China increasingly becoming the mediator in all this? <br /><br /> <br /> 5- Speculation is also growing over the possibility of North Korea requesting a summit with Russia before the Trump-Kim summit sometime in May or early June.<br />What are the chances of us seeing this happening?<br /><br /> <br /> 6- What is North Korea hoping to achieve as it actively reaches out to its allies?<br /><br /> <br /> 7- So the issue of denuclearization is the key issue... because the different countries involved have different understandings of "denuclearization". <br />Tell us more about this. <br /><br /> <br /> 8- With the U.S., South Korea and Japan stepping up trilateral cooperation.... and North Korea reaching out to China and Russia for support ahead of the inter-Korean summit as well as the Trump-Kim summit... how helpful do you think such relationships and alliances will be in reaching an effective outcome from the summits?<br /><br /> <br /> 9- What role should South Korea play at this point and also going forward?<br />What strategies should Seoul have in place in order to successfully bring peace and stability back to the Korean Peninsula? <br /><br /> Thank you for your insight today.<br /><br /> My pleasure. <br />
