[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Ji-eun] Noh Kyu-duk, head of the Korean Peninsula Peace Negotiation Headquarters, met with Sung Kim, the U.S. Special Representative for North Korea, and stated, "We will strive to resume talks with North Korea as soon as possible through consultation and coordination." Representative Kim also expressed his intention to hold close consultations, saying, "We expect to receive a positive response for dialogue from North Korea soon."
After the consultation, Representative Kim urged North Korea to respond positively to the meeting and called for dialogue.
On the morning of the 21st at around 11 a.m., Noh met with Representative Kim at the Lotte Hotel in Sogong-dong, Seoul, during the Korea-U.S. senior-level talks on North Korea's nuclear issue, stating, "We aim to restore mutually beneficial South-North-U.S. relations."
This consultation is the first since Representative Kim took office.
Noh referred to North Korean Workers' Party General Secretary Kim Jong-un's statement at the plenary meeting that "we must be prepared for both dialogue and confrontation," emphasizing, "We are paying close attention to Pyongyang's initial response to the U.S. North Korea policy."
He added, "The South Korean government will continue to play the necessary role to resume talks with North Korea as soon as possible through Korea-U.S. consultation and coordination," expressing gratitude to Ambassador Kim for choosing South Korea as his first visit after taking office.
Representative Kim also noted General Secretary Kim's plenary meeting remarks, saying, "General Secretary Kim mentioned both 'dialogue and confrontation,' and we are prepared for either. As you know, we are waiting for a response from North Korea to meet, and we hope to receive a positive reaction soon."
He continued, "Throughout the review of North Korea policy, we maintained very close contact not only bilaterally but also trilaterally among South Korea, the U.S., and Japan, and we will continue close communication going forward," adding, "We have a strong joint will to pursue the complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula through diplomacy and dialogue."
After about 45 minutes of consultation, Representative Kim told reporters, "We reaffirmed our joint will to pursue the complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula through diplomacy and dialogue," and said, "We have been paying attention to North Korea's recent responses and hope that North Korea will respond positively to our proposal for talks."
Head Noh also said, "We focused on how to promote dialogue and engagement with North Korea based on existing agreements between South and North Korea and between North Korea and the U.S.," adding, "We agreed to maintain close cooperation between South Korea and the U.S. and to manage the Korean Peninsula stably while working together to ensure that talks can resume promptly." He also mentioned that they had in-depth discussions on ways to actively implement the consultations between the South Korean and U.S. presidents last month.
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