[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Ji-eun] Sung Kim, the U.S. Special Representative for North Korea Nuclear Negotiations, arrived in South Korea on the 19th.
Representative Kim entered through Incheon International Airport that morning and, when asked by reporters about his thoughts, said, "I look forward to productive meetings with Chief Negotiator Noh (Gyu-deok) of the South Korean government and his colleagues, as well as Chief Negotiator Funakoshi and his colleagues from Japan."
He did not respond to questions regarding North Korean Workers' Party General Secretary Kim Jong-un's message to the U.S. revealed at the plenary meeting or incentives to bring North Korea to the negotiating table.
This visit is the first since Representative Kim's appointment, accompanied by Deputy Special Representative for North Korea Jeong Park, Deputy Assistant Secretary for East Asia and Pacific at the U.S. Department of State, and officials from the White House National Security Council (NSC).
Over the weekend, Representative Kim will attend to personal matters and on the morning of the 21st will hold consultations with Noh Gyu-deok, Head of the South Korean Peace Negotiation Headquarters, at the Lotte Hotel in Sogong-dong, Seoul. Subsequently, he will conduct trilateral consultations with Funakoshi Takehiro, Director-General of the Asian and Oceanian Affairs Bureau of the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, who is expected to visit during the weekend, followed by South Korea-Japan and U.S.-Japan nuclear negotiations.
On the 22nd, he will meet with Minister of Unification Lee In-young, as well as academics and civil society figures, before departing on the 23rd.
There is also speculation about possible contact with North Korea during the visit. Earlier, Kyodo News speculated that Representative Kim might seek contact with the North at Panmunjom during his visit, but a Ministry of Foreign Affairs official explained, "Such a schedule is not being pursued."
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