S. Korea, US agree to closely coordinate on NK policy formulation, implementation: senior Seoul official
National Security Adviser Shin Won-sik speaks during a meeting with reporters in Washington, March 6. Yonhap
South Korea and the United States agreed Thursday to closely coordinate on the formulation and implementation of North Korea policy while reaffirming the shared goal of the "complete" denuclearization of North Korea, a senior Seoul official said.
National Security Adviser Shin Won-sik made the remarks after his first in-person meeting with his U.S. counterpart, Mike Waltz, in Washington as Seoul has been striving to ensure that it and the Donald Trump administration remain on the same page in their overall approach toward the recalcitrant regime in Pyongyang.
The two sides also agreed that the National Security Councils (NSCs) of the two countries will lead their respective governments' efforts to promote bilateral cooperation in the shipbuilding industry.
"The two sides reaffirmed their will for the complete denuclearization of North Korea," Shin said during a meeting with South Korean correspondents as he explained the outcome of his talks with Waltz, which he depicted as having proceeded in a "very amicable" atmosphere.
"Regarding the formulation and implementation of North Korea policy, (the two sides) agreed to definitely coordinate closely in advance."
The meeting came amid the growing need for Seoul and Washington to remain in close coordination over an approach to the North at a time when U.S. President Donald Trump has expressed his openness to reengaging with the North against the backdrop of icy inter-Korean relations.
During the talks, the two sides shared the view that the South Korea-U.S. alliance is "very crucial" in light of promoting stability on the Korean Peninsula, as well as peace, safety and prosperity in the broader Indo-Pacific region, Shin said.
"We shared the understanding that over the span of more than 70 years, the alliance has not only successfully responded to various challenges driven by changes in the political circumstances but also developed into the most exemplary alliance," he said.
"We explained that (to the U.S.), and the U.S. side expressed high expectations for the alliance."
On America's security commitment to South Korea, a senior official at Seoul's presidential office said that Shin and Waltz concurred on the need to further strengthen America's "extended deterrence" commitment to using the full range of its military capabilities, including nuclear arms, to defend its ally.
"The two sides shared the basic understanding that North Korea's advancing nuclear and missile programs pose a threat to peace on the Korean Peninsula, Northeast Asia and the world," the senior official said. "They also concurred that the most effective means to deter North Korean nuclear threats is the strengthening of extended deterrence."
On shipbuilding industry cooperation, the two countries' NSCs agreed to coordinate over their respective governmentwide efforts through their NSC teams dedicated to the matter, according to the unnamed official.
During the talks with Waltz, Shin asked for the U.S.' cooperation and interest in South Korea's efforts to join projects concerning the maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) of U.S. naval ships, and its push for a bilateral reciprocal defense procurement agreement designed to curtail trade barriers.
Optimism for shipbuilding cooperation between the allies has risen as Trump mentioned his intent to work with Korea in the shipbuilding industry during a call with President Yoon Suk Yeol in November.
During a radio interview in January, Trump also said the U.S. may use allies in its efforts to build naval vessels.
Shin also used the meeting with Waltz to explain Seoul's position regarding Trump's claim that South Korea's average tariff is four times higher than that of the U.S.
Seoul countered Trump's claim by saying that South Korea's average tariff rate on U.S. products stands at less than 1 percent under a bilateral free trade agreement.
South Korea's average tariff on its most-favored nations (MFNs) stands at around 13.4 percent — compared with the U.S.' 3.3 percent on its MFNs — but that rate is not applicable to countries with free trade deals with Asia's fourth-largest economy. (Yonhap)