Foreign Minister Jeong Eui-yong: "President Biden's Speech is Hopeful... Welcoming the Review Results of U.S. North Korea Policy"

Jeong Eui-yong, Minister of Foreign Affairs of South Korea, who is visiting the United Kingdom to attend the G7 Foreign and Development Ministers' Meeting, is holding a South Korea-US foreign ministers' meeting with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken in London, UK, on the 3rd. [Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Seon-ae] Foreign Minister Chung Eui-yong expressed his welcome for the results of the U.S. review of its North Korea policy.

On the morning of the 3rd (local time), Minister Chung met with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken at the Grosvenor Hotel in central London and said in his opening remarks, "President Joe Biden's speech to Congress was very positive and hopeful not only for the world but also for South Korea," adding, "I welcome the results of the North Korea policy review."

Minister Chung visited London from the 3rd to the 5th to attend the G7 Foreign and Development Ministers' Meeting and held talks with Secretary Blinken as his first official schedule on that day.

After the meeting, Minister Chung told Yonhap News Agency, "Although the time was not long, about 45 minutes, we discussed everything," and said, "We have prepared well for what needs to be done in preparation for the South Korea-U.S. summit and regarding North Korea, and we also conveyed everything we wanted to say."

He added, "We will hold a trilateral meeting among South Korea, the U.S., and Japan, where we plan to focus more on North Korea-related issues, and we will also meet occasionally on the sidelines during the conference."

Regarding the fact that South Korea was not present at the dinner attended only by G7 member countries and the discussion of North Korea-related issues, he said, "This time, I will meet individually with most participating countries such as Germany, the European Union (EU), Canada, and the United Kingdom, and although the time will not be long, I will focus on discussing North Korea-related issues, explaining well the significance of the U.S. review of its North Korea policy, and the U.S. will also speak from its side."

Regarding the South Korea-Japan Foreign Ministers' Meeting, he said, "It will be held after the South Korea-U.S.-Japan meeting," adding, "I am not sure if it will be held consecutively."

He said, "Actually, I was supposed to arrive in London this evening, but Secretary Blinken said it would be better to meet first, so I hurried here," and added, "We also planned to hold the South Korea-U.S.-Japan meeting afterward today, but the timing did not work out well. We will have to see."

Secretary Blinken met with Japan first before meeting South Korea on the same day.

Meanwhile, a senior official from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said regarding North Korea's strong backlash against the U.S. review of its North Korea policy, "It seems to be because they do not know the details well, and if they review it carefully, they would not make such statements," adding, "There are many positive aspects regarding North Korea."

The official said, "Kim Yo-jong, the deputy director of the Workers' Party, only spoke about South Korea's leaflet distribution against North Korea and did not mention the U.S. at all, which seems to indicate restraint in expressing their position until the final details are understood."

He added, "North Korea is also very cautious," noting that Kim Yo-jong's remarks related to the leaflets were published in the Rodong Sinmun, which is distributed domestically to the North Korean people, but the Foreign Ministry spokesperson's remarks criticizing the U.S. State Department statement were not published.

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