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| Kim Hyun-chong, center, answers questions after his meeting with U.S. special envoy for North Korea Stephen Biegun at the Central Government Complex, downtown Seoul, Thursday afternoon. Yonhap |
By Lee Min-hyung, Kim Yoo-chul
The United States and North Korea will restart the denuclearization dialogue "soon," a senior presidential aide said Thursday, remaining positive about the pace toward visible progress in the process after the breakdown in Hanoi, February.
"As a Cheong Wa Dae representative in the denuclearization process, I met with U.S. special envoy for North Korea Stephen Biegun for more than an hour to deliver South Korea's message about the denuclearization process. I can't divulge the details of my talks with Biegun, but my impression was that North Korea and the United States will restart their nuclear dialogue soon and it will go quite well," Kim Hyun-chong, deputy adviser at the presidential National Security Office, told reporters after his encounter with Biegun at the Government Complex in downtown Seoul.
The presidential aide added South Korea is "sharing all relevant info and details regarding North Korea" with the United States. "Seoul and Washington are standing together in seeking further progress in the denuclearization process. Washington also highly appreciated Seoul's continued patience despite negative remarks and criticism aimed at South Korea as we have a common issue that we are covering and have to achieve."
Kim's upbeat assessment came a few hours after North Korea said it isn't interested in the denuclearization dialogue as long as South Korea and the United States maintain their "military threats."
A spokesperson for the North's foreign ministry issued a statement through its state-run Korean Central News Agency by blaming Seoul's recent purchase of advanced F-35 stealth fighter jets from the United States and the recent U.S. cruise missile launch test. It also said the North hasn't changed its position to resolve "all issues in a peaceful manner" through dialogue and negotiation.
Regarding his positive outlook for the restart of the nuclear negotiations, Kim said, "I can't tell you the specifics, but that's the impression that I got during my meeting with Biegun."
The joint U.S.-South Korea military drill ended on Tuesday. North Korea recently fired short-range ballistic missiles and advanced projectiles during the drill. But Washington and Pyongyang both downplayed the significance of the provocations. U.S. President Donald Trump said the North's launches weren't threats to the U.S. mainland and highlighted his personal relationship with the North's leader Kim Jong-un by saying letters he received recently from Kim included an apology for the missile tests.
In June during a historic encounter between Kim and Trump at the South's side of the inter-Korean Joint Security Area (JSA), the two agreed to resume negotiations, but no substantial progress has yet been made.
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