Sung Kim, the U.S. special representative for North Korea, arrives at Incheon International Airport, Saturday. Yonhap

By Kang Seung-woo

The visit of Sung Kim, the U.S. special representative for North Korea, to Seoul is raising questions over whether Washington will offer enticements to Pyongyang in a bid to normalize stalled nuclear negotiations.

Since February 2019, when the U.S.-North Korea summit ended without reaching a deal on denuclearization, the totalitarian state has continued to refuse engaging both the U.S. and South Korea, thereby hampering inter-Korean relations.

Kim, who was appointed to the post last month, arrived here, Saturday, on a five-day trip, during which he is scheduled to sit down with his South Korean counterpart, Noh Kyu-duk, and hold three-way talks that will also include Japan's nuclear envoy, Takehiro Funakoshi, Monday.