Foreign ministry vows not to repeat failures of 2018 NK working group

Jeong Yeon-doo, right, vice minister for diplomatic strategy and intelligence at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, shakes hands with Kevin Kim, acting U.S. ambassador to Korea, at the ministry's headquarters in Seoul, Tuesday, during the inaugural meeting of a consultative body on the Korea-U.S. joint fact sheet. Joint Press Corps

A newly launched South Korea-U.S. consultative body on North Korea policy differs fundamentally from the 2018 bilateral working group, South Korea's Ministry of Foreign Affairs said Wednesday, pushing back against concerns that the new framework could repeat past mistakes.

The clarification came a day after Seoul and Washington held the inaugural meeting of the consultative body amid concerns that it could mirror the earlier working group, which was widely seen as giving the United States excessive influence over South Korea's approach on North Korea.

"Both South Korea and the U.S. clearly recognized that the purpose and background of the discussions were entirely different from those of the previous working group, and this understanding remains unchanged," a foreign ministry official said during a closed-door briefing.

The meeting was co-chaired by Jeong Yeon-doo, vice minister for diplomatic strategy and intelligence at the foreign ministry, and acting U.S. Ambassador to South Korea Kevin Kim.

During the talks, the two sides reaffirmed their commitment to the complete denuclearization of North Korea and pledged to cooperate on implementing the 2018 Singapore Joint Statement agreed by U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un.

The discussions came as Seoul and Washington seek to bring Pyongyang back to the negotiating table, and as North Korea has remained silent to South Korea's repeated overtures over the past six months.

The launch of the new consultative body, however, was overshadowed by pushback from the Ministry of Unification, the government agency in charge of inter-Korean affairs. A day before the meeting, the ministry announced it would not participate.

Some within the unification ministry are said to have cited concerns that the foreign ministry-led consultations could resemble the 2018 South Korea-U.S. working group.

North Korea leader Kim Jong-un and his daughter Ju-ae attend the completion ceremony of the Gangdong-gun Regional Industrial Plant near Pyongyang, Monday, in this photo carried by the North's official Korean Central News Agency the next day. Yonhap

The earlier group, disbanded in 2021, drew criticism for constraining Seoul's autonomy in engaging with North Korea, contrary to initial expectations that it would serve as a channel for swift coordination between the allies. In one instance, South Korea's attempt to provide flu medicine to Pyongyang in 2019 was reportedly blocked by U.S. opposition citing sanctions concerns.

Addressing this criticism, the foreign ministry official said the new consultative body is focused on implementing North Korea-related commitments outlined in a bilateral joint fact sheet released in November.

The document summarizes outcomes from two summits between President Lee Jae Myung and Trump, including commitments to North Korea's complete denuclearization.

"The meeting served as an opportunity for both governments to reaffirm the importance of implementing the joint fact sheet," the official said when asked about the agenda of Tuesday's meeting.

"The discussions, which lasted a little over three hours, focused primarily on the two sides' assessments and analyses of the geopolitical situation surrounding the Korean Peninsula," he explained. "Efforts by both nations are urgently needed to break the ice and open the door to talks with North Korea."

Asked whether easing sanctions or scaling down joint military drills — steps often cited as potential incentives to draw North Korea back to talks — were discussed, the official replied the focus was on sharing assessments of the current situation.

He did not give an exact timeline as to when the next meeting will be held, adding only that the allies would continue to communicate frequently.

The foreign ministry said the door remains open for the unification ministry to join the consultative body in the future if necessary, stressing that the two ministries would continue to work closely toward the government's shared goal of establishing peace on the peninsula.