Washington / Seoul, March 2 (Yonhap) – The chief security advisers of South Korea and the United States have reaffirmed their commitment to closely coordinate on North Korean affairs, the White House said, amid the Washington’s assessment of its Pyongyang-related policy.
—
Suh Hoon, director of national security for the South Korean presidential office, and his US counterpart, Jake Sullivan, held telephone conversations on Monday (Washington time), said the spokeswoman for the National Security Council, Emily Horne, as Seoul and Washington They seek to guarantee political cooperation on the resumption of the stalled dialogue with the North.
—
Horne said in a statement that Suh and Sullivan reaffirmed the strength of the ROK-US alliance, and their shared commitment to coordinate closely on the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea – North Korea’s official name – and the importance of maintaining peace and stability on the Korean peninsula. ROK stands for South Korea’s official name: the Republic of Korea.
—
The two sides also discussed several other shared foreign policy priorities, such as fighting the COVID-19 pandemic and climate change, Horne noted.
—
The talks coincided with a bilateral meeting, held via videoconference, between Koh Yun-ju, director general for North American affairs at the South Korean Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and Marc Knapper, US deputy assistant secretary of state for Korea and Japan.
—
During the talks, which have been held regularly since May 2020, to maintain political coordination despite the pandemic, the two discussed key issues of mutual concern, including Seoul’s efforts to improve relations with Japan, which are have become strained due to wartime history.
—
The talks came after South Korean President Moon Jae-in renewed his desire to mend ties with Japan, in a speech commemorating the 1919 Independence Movement against Japanese colonization, amid appeals from states. United to a stronger trilateral cooperation with the two Asian allied countries.
—
