Seoul, Washington agree to have inter-Korean cooperation, denuclearization efforts work in tandem
- 5 years ago
South Korea's point-man on North Korea has been holding talks with U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo in Washington.
While there are signs Seoul and Washington have different stances on Pyeongyang, the two officials reaffirmed that inter-Korean relations and North Korea's denuclearization have to go hand-in-hand.
Oh Jung-hee reports.
Inter-Korean relations and denuclearization efforts working in tandem.
That's what South Korea's unification minister Cho Myoung-gyon and U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo agreed to during their meeting in Washington on Friday.
The State Department says... the two affirmed to keep working together to achieve the final, fully verified denuclearization of North Korea.
They also discussed deepening coordination to make sure inter-Korean cooperation and progress in North Korea-U.S. nuclear negotiations... stay aligned.
The meeting comes as some of the two Koreas' plans are on ice amid the stalled nuclear negotiations.
There are concerns in Washington that inter-Korean relations are getting too far ahead to the denuclearization process.
For instance, South and North Korea agreed to hold a ground-breaking ceremony for linking and modernizing their railways and roads before the end of this year, and for that, they decided to start joint inspections late last month and early this month.
But, those joint inspections have not started yet.
Seoul remains optimistic that inter-Korean cooperation can prompt North Korea's denuclearization... and is aiming to earn sanctions exemptions.
But Washington is firm on keeping maximum pressure on Pyeongyang,... saying it's what drew North Korea to the negotiation table in the first place.
While South Korea's unification minister wraps up his four-day visit on Saturday,... Seoul's nuclear envoy will be heading to Washington next week for a possible first meeting of a bilateral working group.
It's expected South Korea and the U.S. will keep discussions going... on implementing UN sanctions, but at the same time finding areas where the two Koreas can work together without violating the punitive measures on Pyeongyang.
Oh Jung-hee, Arirang News.
While there are signs Seoul and Washington have different stances on Pyeongyang, the two officials reaffirmed that inter-Korean relations and North Korea's denuclearization have to go hand-in-hand.
Oh Jung-hee reports.
Inter-Korean relations and denuclearization efforts working in tandem.
That's what South Korea's unification minister Cho Myoung-gyon and U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo agreed to during their meeting in Washington on Friday.
The State Department says... the two affirmed to keep working together to achieve the final, fully verified denuclearization of North Korea.
They also discussed deepening coordination to make sure inter-Korean cooperation and progress in North Korea-U.S. nuclear negotiations... stay aligned.
The meeting comes as some of the two Koreas' plans are on ice amid the stalled nuclear negotiations.
There are concerns in Washington that inter-Korean relations are getting too far ahead to the denuclearization process.
For instance, South and North Korea agreed to hold a ground-breaking ceremony for linking and modernizing their railways and roads before the end of this year, and for that, they decided to start joint inspections late last month and early this month.
But, those joint inspections have not started yet.
Seoul remains optimistic that inter-Korean cooperation can prompt North Korea's denuclearization... and is aiming to earn sanctions exemptions.
But Washington is firm on keeping maximum pressure on Pyeongyang,... saying it's what drew North Korea to the negotiation table in the first place.
While South Korea's unification minister wraps up his four-day visit on Saturday,... Seoul's nuclear envoy will be heading to Washington next week for a possible first meeting of a bilateral working group.
It's expected South Korea and the U.S. will keep discussions going... on implementing UN sanctions, but at the same time finding areas where the two Koreas can work together without violating the punitive measures on Pyeongyang.
Oh Jung-hee, Arirang News.