WASHINGTON, Aug. 05 (Yonhap) – South Korean and American officials met this week to coordinate efforts to achieve denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula, the State Department said Thursday.
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The first Director General or Deputy Director General (DLC) consultation meeting was held in Seoul on Wednesday (Seoul time) between the United States Deputy Special Representative for North Korea, Jung Pak, and officials from southern ministries. Korean Foreign Affairs and Unification, as well as the presidential office and the National Security Council (NSC), according to the department.
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“The two sides discussed the current situation on the Korean Peninsula, prospects for humanitarian cooperation and coordination on DPRK issues with stakeholders from other multilateral forums, including trilateral cooperation with Japan,” he reported in a press release, referring to North Korea by its official name, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.
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It remained to be defined whether the prospects for humanitarian cooperation referred to possible assistance to the hermit kingdom.
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Pyongyang has kept its borders closed since the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic early last year, although it claims to have confirmed no cases of infection to date.
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Recently, however, the impoverished country spoke of the difficulties it faces in obtaining enough food and Covid-19 vaccines for its population, which questions Pyongyang’s willingness to accept the international aid it had. often criticized for being surrounded by too much surveillance.
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“This DLC meeting illustrated the commitment of the United States and the ROK to continued cooperation on DPRK issues and underscored the importance of such coordination as we seek to advance the Complete denuclearization and permanent peace on the Korean Peninsula, ”the State Department said. ROK stands for Republic of Korea, the official name for South Korea.
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Seoul said earlier that Pak and his South Korean counterparts had discussed ways to resume dialogue between the United States and North Korea at an early date.
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North Korea reopened its direct channels of communication with the South last week after more than 13 months of hiatus in the inter-Korean dialogue.
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Pak’s visit to South Korea also follows an earlier trip by his boss, Sung Kim, in which the US Special Representative to the DPRK said his country was ready to meet with the North “at any time. , anywhere ”and without preconditions.
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