South Korea, US agree to work towards opening denuclearisation talks with N. Korea

SEOUL: Senior diplomats from South Korea and the United States have agreed to work closely to open denuclearisation talks with North Korea yesterday, Yonhap News Agency reported.

First vice Foreign Minister Lim Sung-nam met with US Deputy Secretary of State John Sullivan and Deputy National Security Adviser Ricky Waddell in Washington, on Wednesday to discuss the on-going dialogue between South Korea and North Korea and the North’s nuclear issue, according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

During the meetings, Lim communicated the results of the series of high- and working-level talks the South has recently held with the North, the ministry said.

South Korean and American officials agreed to cooperate closely so that the inter-Korean talks can lead to new dialogue with the North on denuclearisation, the ministry noted.

The two sides also concurred that the foreign ministers’ meeting held in Vancouver, Canada earlier this week affirmed the international community’s solidarity for a peaceful and diplomatic resolution of the North Korean nuclear issue.

Lim and Sullivan also agreed to host a strategic dialogue between the two countries’ vice foreign ministers sometime in the first half of this year to discuss bilateral and global issues, according to the ministry.

Yesterday, the South Korean vice foreign minister is scheduled to meet with United Nations Security-General Antonio Guterres in New York to discuss global peace, it also said.