FM nominee meets US nuclear envoy to discuss North Korea policy

Foreign Minister nominee Park Jin met with a visiting U.S. nuclear envoy Wednesday to discuss ways to coordinate North Korea policy under the incoming government of President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol, according to Park's office.

Park, a four-term lawmaker of the People Power Party, sat down with U.S. Special Representative for North Korea Sung Kim amid concern that Pyongyang could stage major provocations, including a nuclear test, ahead of Yoon's May 10 inauguration. Kim is on a five-day trip here that will last through Friday.

The nominee said Pyongyang's recent missile launches pose a serious threat to regional peace and stability and underscore the need for close coordination between Seoul and Washington against any rising threat from the North, according to a press release.

With consultations underway for a summit between Yoon and U.S. President Joe Biden in the near future, Park said the new government will closely communicate and cooperate with Washington from Day 1 for the allies' "watertight" posture, it read.

Kim was quoted as saying that the Biden administration has high expectations for working with the Yoon administration on issues related to the Korean Peninsula. (Yonhap)