Seoul to closely cooperate with China, Japan to tackle North Korea issue

Jennie Oh — Tue, 13 Mar 2018 02:16:10 +0000

South Korea’s National Intelligence Service chief Suh Hoon (L) meets Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe (R) in Tokyo, Japan 13 March 2018. Suh recently met with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and discussed the prospect of the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula. Photo by EPA-EFE/KIM KYUNG-HOON.

March 13 (UPI) — South Korean President Moon Jae-in’s special envoys visited regional leaders to rally support on tackling North Korea-related issues, following their meetings with U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.

Last week, Moon’s security adviser Chung Eui-yong and National Intelligence Service Director Suh Hoon brokered a breakthrough agreement between Pyongyang and Washington to discuss denuclearization.

Chung headed to Beijing to meet with President Xi Jin Ping on Monday, News 1 reported.

He shared the outcome of his meetings with the North Korean and U.S. leaders and reportedly delivered President Moon’s invitation for Xi to visit South Korea.

Xi reportedly said he actively backs the effort to improve and reconcile relations between the South and North, expressing hope for a successful summit between the two Koreas next month as well as between the North and the United States in May.

The Chinese leader also reiterated Beijing’s stance on supporting and playing an active role in the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula and resolving the North’s nuclear crisis through dialogue.

He called for stronger communication between the South and China in dealing with major issues.

Meanwhile, Suh held a meeting with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Tuesday, a day after meeting with Foreign Minister Taro Kono.

According to Suh, Abe expressed support for denuclearization talks between the North and the United States, emphasizing that Pyongyang should take “concrete” steps toward dismantling its nuclear program.

He called for continued trilateral cooperation between Seoul, Tokyo and Washington in resolving the North’s nuclear issue as well as the regime’s kidnapping of Japanese citizens.

In his meeting with the Japanese foreign minister the day before, the South Korean spy chief reportedly agreed to cooperate in resolving the abduction issue and that upcoming summits with the North must yield concrete steps toward denuclearization, the Nikkei Asian Review reported.

While Suh returns to Seoul, Chung is set to make a two-day trip to Moscow to consult Russian officials.

North Korea open to talks with United States, South Korea says

Hakyung Kate Lee and Ben Gittleson - ABC — Sun, 25 Feb 2018 06:57:14 +0000

South Korea’s presidential office said today that North Korea’s delegation to the Olympics agreed that there should be talks between the United States and North Korea.

im Eui-kyeom, a spokesperson for the Blue House, the presidential office, said that just like South Korea, the delegation from Pyongyang believed that U.S.-North Korean relations should improve.

The announcement followed talks today between South Korean President Moon Jae-in and members of North Korea’s delegation to the 2018 Winter Olympics closing ceremony.

In response, the White House did not rule out direct talks, saying: “We will see if Pyongyang’s message today, that it is willing to hold talks, represents the first steps along the path to denuclearization. In the meantime, the United States and the world must continue to make clear that North Korea’s nuclear and missile programs are a dead end.”

It said that any dialogue with the North must result in denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula and that a “maximum pressure campaign must continue until North Korea denuclearizes.”

Michael Probst/AP Photo

Kim Yong Chol, vice chairman of North Korea’s ruling Workers’ Party Central Committee, back right, watches the closing ceremony with South Korean President Moon Jae-in, left, Moon’s wife Kim Jung-sook, and Ivanka Trump, Feb. 25, 2018

A State Department spokesperson told ABC News the United States was “in close contact with the Republic of Korea about our unified response to North Korea,” using the official name for South Korea. “As President Moon stated, ‘The improvement of relations between North and South Korea cannot advance separately from resolving North Korea’s nuclear program.'”

The South said the talks lasted an hour and concluded just a couple hours before the Olympics closing ceremony started in Pyeongchang, South Korea. The North Korean delegation included Kim Yong Chol, the vice chairman of the North Korean ruling party’s central committee, and Ri Son Kwon, the chairman of North Korea’s Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of the Fatherland, according to the Blue House.

Moon was joined by the Blue House national security adviser, Chung Eui-yong, and the director of South Korea’s National Intelligence Service, Suh Hoon, the president’s office said.

South Korean President Moon Jae-in said he hoped relations between North Korea and South Korea would improve, and the North Korean delegation said that North Korean leader Kim Jong Un felt the same way, according to the spokesperson.

The Blue House made the announcement as the closing ceremony was getting underway. The American and North Korean delegations sat seats away from each other during the ceremony but did not appear to interact.

ABC News asked the U.S. delegation for comment and did not immediately hear back.

ABC News’ Clark Bentson contributed to this report from Pyeongchang, South Korea, and ABC News’ Conor Finnegan and Meridith McGraw contributed reporting from Washington.

Source: http://abcnews.go.com/International/north-korea-open-talks-united-states-south-korea/story?id=53344216

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Seoul to closely cooperate with China, Japan to tackle North Korea issue

North Korea open to talks with United States, South Korea says