DPRK envoy Kim Yong Chol arrived in Washington for expected talks with Secretary of State Mike Pompeo. He will also reportedly meet with U.S. President Donald Trump, though U.S. government officials have not confirmed either meeting.

Local airport officials confirm Kim's flight landed just before 7 p.m. local time on the night of January 17. Korean newswire Yonhap reports that Stephen Biegun, the U.S. special representative for the DPRK, was at the airport to greet Kim, who is Pyongyang's top negotiator in the denuclearization talks with the U.S.

The visit is widely seen as a sign of potential movement in diplomatic efforts. The two sides are also expected to lay the groundwork for a second leaders' summit.

In a studio interview, Jonathan Broder, a Washington-based senior writer for Newsweek, shared more insights on the possible outcome. He believes the two sides are trying to settle on the location where a second summit between Donald Trump and Kim Jong Un will take place.

“What we've heard so far is that there is a high possibility that it will take place in Vietnam,” said Mr. Broder, who also thinks they're trying to establish some sort of agenda for the talks, but that's not easy.

What the United States is most interested in is to get right to the denuclearization issue, while the DPRK is eager to profit from its relationship with the U.S., shown by its willingness to stop testing missiles and destroying one of its nuclear test sites.

However, the U.S. thinks the DPRK should provide an inventory of all its weapons before any progress can be made. 

“For now, we'll have to see whether they can work through these issues,” said the analyst. 

It is also necessary to notice that Trump has mentioned his desire to have a second summit with Kim Jong Un. Two weeks ago, he said the location of such a summit would be announced soon. The leaders have exchanged multiple letters, but there's been little progress on the denuclearization agreement reached by the two countries in Singapore last year.

Talks have stalled over Pyongyang's refusal to provide details about its nuclear and missile facilities and allow inspectors in to witness their dismantling. The DPRK has demanded Washington lift harsh sanctions and provide security guarantees before any suspension of the missile or nuclear tests.

In his New Year's address, Kim Jong Un issued a warning concerning the stalled nuclear negotiations, saying the DPRK may have to take a "new path." However, interestingly, the DPRK leader expressed his intention to pursue a second summit as he visited Beijing last week.

The envoy arrived on the same day President Trump unveiled a revamped U.S. missile defense strategy that singled out the DPRK as an ongoing and "extraordinary threat." Mr. Broder points out that it's a common tactic that the U.S. uses to raise the stakes for negotiations between two sides before talks begin.

“It strikes me as more posturing than something real. You have to remember, Trump right now is under tremendous pressure on domestic issues, particularly the investigations into possible collusion between his campaign and the Russians during the election. So the visit with the DPRK official in a way is a bit of distraction from those domestic problems,” said Broder.

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