Seo Hoon, Director of the Blue House National Security Office, Meets with U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Stephen Biegun: "Resuming North Korea-U.S. Dialogue is Important"

Seo Hoon, Director of the National Security Office, is taking a commemorative photo before a meeting with Steven Biegun, U.S. Deputy Secretary of State and Special Representative for North Korea, who is visiting Cheong Wa Dae on the 9th.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Son Sun-hee] Seo Hoon, Director of the National Security Office, met with Steven Biegun, U.S. Deputy Secretary of State and Special Representative for North Korea Policy, at the Blue House on the 9th, the Blue House announced. This was the first meeting since Seo took office on the 3rd.

According to the Blue House, the meeting between Director Seo and Deputy Secretary Biegun took place from 10 a.m. and lasted about 1 hour and 10 minutes. Seo said, "The strong ROK-U.S. alliance is the foundation of our foreign and security policy," and added, "Let us continue close communication between Korea and the U.S." The Blue House also reported that Deputy Secretary Biegun reaffirmed the U.S. government's firm commitment to the ROK-U.S. alliance.

Furthermore, both sides shared assessments of recent developments related to North Korea and discussed ways to advance the peace process on the Korean Peninsula. Director Seo highly praised Deputy Secretary Biegun's efforts to resume North Korea-U.S. talks and urged him to continue these efforts.

Deputy Secretary Biegun also emphasized the importance of resuming North Korea-U.S. dialogue and agreed to maintain close cooperation with South Korea.

In addition, both sides discussed various bilateral ROK-U.S. issues and international affairs, and agreed on the need to promptly conclude negotiations on defense cost-sharing, the Blue House stated.