| Kyu-deok Noh, head of the Korean Peninsula Peace Negotiation Headquarters, and Sung Kim, U.S. special representative for North Korea, speak after a meeting with the chief representative of North Korea on nuclear weapons at the Fairmont Hotel in Jakarta, Indonesia on the 30th of last month. (Provided by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs) 2021.9.30/News1 |
On the 18th (local time), Minister of Foreign Affairs Roh Gyu-deok, head of the Korean Peninsula Peace Negotiation Headquarters of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, who is visiting the United States, holds a meeting with US State Department special representative for North Korea, Sung Kim, as the chief representative for the North Korean nuclear program. Humanitarian aid to North Korea, which has reached the final stage of consultations, and the Korean War declaration that the Korean government is accelerating, are expected to be discussed intensively.
Director Roh met with correspondents at Dulles International Airport near Washington DC on the afternoon of the 16th (local time) and said, “I expect that there will be more working-level discussions on various measures, including the declaration of an end to the war.”
At the UN General Assembly last month, President Moon Jae-in brought out a card that reads ‘Declaration of the end of the war between North and South America or North and South America and China.’ It is known that China and Russia, which are North Korea’s ‘behind the scenes’, are showing a ‘positive’ response so far.
North Korea said it was an “interesting proposal and a good idea,” but has made a conditional response, saying, “Withdrawal of the double standard and hostile policy.”
On the other hand, after expressing an ambiguous position that the United States is “open to discussion about the possibility”, it has not shown any effort to push for an end-of-war declaration.
The Biden administration regards the declaration of an end to the war as an issue that can be discussed in the process of denuclearization negotiations with North Korea, as a ‘reward for denuclearization measures’ by the North, but there is a ‘disagreement’ with the South Korean government, which basically regards it as a gateway to peace on the Korean Peninsula. .
Although the ROK-U.S. alliance is listening to South Korea’s ideas in terms of cooperation on North Korea policy, there are observations that the Biden administration is still willing to sympathize.
When asked, ‘Do you think there are signs of a change in the US position on the end of the war?’, Roh recalled the fact that he had a discussion with Kim at the end of last month, saying, “We expect that there will be good and productive discussions this time as well.” said
In addition, humanitarian aid to North Korea is expected to be discussed at this meeting. Through a series of face-to-face and wireline consultations, the chief representatives of North Korea and the United States have already reached a consensus on humanitarian aid to North Korea, including health, infectious disease control, drinking water and sanitation.
“The humanitarian cooperation project with North Korea is also a joint project between South Korea and the United States, and preparations are now being completed,” said Roh.
Director Roh will finish the consultation on the 19th (local time), and on the 19th (local time), takehiro Funakoshi, director of the Asian and Oceanian Affairs Bureau of the Japanese Foreign Ministry, will hold a meeting with the chief representative of North Korea and Japan, followed by a three-party consultation schedule between South Korea, the US and Japan.
ntiger@news1.kr
