US and South Korean Governments to Intensify North Korea Nuclear Talks?

[Asia Economy Reporter Yoo In-ho] There is an analysis that close North Korea nuclear talks are taking place between the South Korean and U.S. governments following the appointment of Joe Biden, President of the United States, as the special envoy for North Korea.

According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on the 29th, following the South Korea-U.S. summit held in Washington DC on the 21st (local time), the two countries officially resumed working-level consultations related to North Korea's nuclear issue.

On the South Korean side, Noh Kyu-duk, Director General of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs' Office for Peace and Security on the Korean Peninsula, is in charge, while on the U.S. side, Special Representative for North Korea, Sung Kim, is responsible. They have held two telephone consultations since the South Korea-U.S. summit.

Director General Noh held a telephone consultation with Special Representative Sung Kim on the morning of the 28th. During this call, both sides discussed ways to actively implement the results of the South Korea-U.S. summit held in Washington on the 21st and to cooperate in practically advancing the complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula and the establishment of lasting peace.

Sung Kim, Acting Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs, is moving to attend the 'Korea-US Bilateral Policy Dialogue' (BPD) held at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Jongno-gu, Seoul on the 19th. Photo by Jinhyung Kang aymsdream@

The telephone consultation between the two senior representatives for North Korea nuclear issues from South Korea and the U.S. was the first in six days since the 22nd.

In the afternoon of the same day, Lee Moon-hee, Director General of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs' North Korea Nuclear Diplomacy Planning Division, held a telephone consultation with Oleg Burmistrov, Russia's Special Representative for North Korea Nuclear Issues and Deputy Chief Representative for North Korea nuclear talks.

During the call, both sides exchanged views on recent developments on the Korean Peninsula, including the results of the U.S. review of its North Korea policy and communication trends among relevant countries. They also agreed to continue close cooperation to bring progress toward the complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula and the establishment of lasting peace.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs also reported that the two discussed cooperation measures between the two countries to practically advance the complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula and the establishment of lasting peace during the call.

Meanwhile, Special Representative Sung Kim is a prominent 'North Korea nuclear expert' within the U.S. State Department and served as the U.S. chief representative during the 2005 Six-Party Talks on North Korea's nuclear program.

He met again with Choe Son-hui, current First Vice Minister of the North Korean Ministry of Foreign Affairs and a member of the North Korean delegation at that time, during the process of coordinating the agenda for the North Korea-U.S. summit held in June 2018.

After the South Korea-U.S. summit held at the White House on the 21st, President Biden announced at a joint press conference that he had appointed Representative Kim as the U.S. State Department's Special Representative for North Korea Policy, to which President Moon Jae-in expressed his "welcome" stance.

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