Nuclear envoys meet in Seoul to discuss NK

By Yi Whan-woo

The top nuclear envoys of South Korea, the United States and Japan met in Seoul, Monday, to discuss the denuclearization of North Korea in line with latest sanctions imposed by the U.N. Security Council (UNSC) and the three allies against Pyongyang.

Kim Hong-kyun, special representative for Korean Peninsula Peace and Security Affairs at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, invited U.S. Special Representative for North Korea Policy Joseph Yun and Japan’s Asian and Oceanian Affairs Bureau Director-General Kenji Kanasugi for a dinner meeting.

They will meet again, Tuesday, to share their thoughts on how they can successfully implement UNSC Resolution 2321. This was imposed Nov. 30 to close loopholes of the previous nuclear sanctions against the North after it carried out its fifth nuclear test, Sept. 9.

The three negotiators also will discuss their respective sanctions that were introduced as follow-up measures to Resolution 2321.

They will especially pay attention to the roles of China and Russia, the UNSC’s two veto-wielding members and two of North Korea’s remaining allies, according to diplomatic sources.

Resolution 2321 mainly deals with curbing North Korea’s exports of coal. Diplomatic sources have speculated that its success depends on China because Beijing accounts for the majority of Pyongyang’s coal earnings.

China has imported 18.6 million tons of coal from North Korea over the first 10 months of this year, up almost 13 percent from 2015.

“South Korea, the U.S. and Japan have been regularly braining storming over how to press North Korea since this year after previously only discussing counter measures when Pyongyang committed a provocative act,” a foreign ministry official said. “We have been restless this year because of North Korea’s cycle of military provocations from January. And this month is when our efforts will reach a peak.”