Lee In-young Meets with U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Biegun to Exchange Views on Korean Peninsula Issues

Minister of Unification Lee In-young attended the Foreign Affairs and Unification Committee plenary meeting held at the National Assembly on the 26th of last month, organizing materials. Photo by Yoon Dong-joo doso7@

Lee In-young, Minister of Unification, is scheduled to meet with Steven Biegun, U.S. Deputy Secretary of State and Special Representative for North Korea, who will visit South Korea on the 8th, the Ministry of Unification announced on the 7th.

Yeo Sang-gi, spokesperson for the Ministry of Unification, said at a regular briefing held at the Government Seoul Office Building on the same day, "Minister Lee is scheduled to meet with Deputy Secretary Biegun," adding, "We will provide specific dates at a later time."

Earlier, on the 6th (local time), the U.S. Department of State issued a press release stating that Deputy Secretary Biegun will meet with South Korean officials during his visit, and "will discuss the shared commitment to security, stability, and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific region, as well as the ROK-U.S. alliance."

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs also released a statement announcing that Deputy Secretary Biegun will visit South Korea from the 8th to the 11th at the invitation of First Vice Foreign Minister Choi Jong-geun, and will hold high-level ROK-U.S. consultations.

Deputy Secretary Biegun has led the North Korea working-level negotiation team since his appointment as Special Representative for North Korea in September 2018. This visit is effectively his last trip to South Korea while in office.

As the Trump administration's term ends on January 20, it is expected that this visit will focus on stable management of the Korean Peninsula during the U.S. administration transition period rather than sending breakthrough messages for North Korea-U.S. negotiations.

In particular, considering that North Korea, which has scheduled the 8th Congress of the Workers' Party in January next year, may revise its strategy toward the U.S. and take a pressure approach in line with the inauguration of the Joe Biden administration, consultations between South Korean and U.S. authorities are expected to proceed with this in mind.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.