'Resumption of US-NK nuclear talks to drive inter-Korean peace'

Unification Minister Kim Yeon-chul delivers a speech while participating in an academic seminar organized to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the University of North Korean Studies and the 47th anniversary of the Institute for Far Eastern Studies of Kyungnam University, in Seoul, Tuesday. Yonhap

By Lee Min-hyung

The annual United Nations General Assembly this week will serve as a key stepping stone for smooth progress in nuclear talks between the United States and North Korea, South Korea's Unification Minister Kim Yeon-chul said Monday.

“President Moon Jae-in plans to explain the outcomes and ongoing efforts surrounding peace processes on the Korean Peninsula, and secure continued support from the international community in a speech there,” Kim said in a congratulatory address celebrating the 30th anniversary of the founding of the University of North Korean Studies in Seoul.

The remark came amid an upbeat mood for resumption in suspended nuclear dialogues between Washington and Pyongyang. Following the breakdown of their second summit in Hanoi last February, the talks on denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula have in recent months hit snags and seen no progress due to their stark difference on methodologies for the North's nuclear disarmament.

But starting this month, the North expressed willingness to restart the working-level dialogue with the U.S. In a series of multiple statements, Pyongyang said it expects the talks to resume “in the next few weeks,” but urged Washington to bring in “new calculation methods” not to repeat the fiasco of the Hanoi summit.

The unification chief said the inter-Korean relation failed to advance after the Hanoi summit ended without an agreement between U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un.

“A number of internal and external factors have put a brake on advancing the inter-Korean relations, but we are going to continue to seek resumption in relations,” the unification chief said.

He expressed hope that the possibly upcoming nuclear talks between Washington and Pyongyang will also become a chance for Seoul to restart exchanges and dialogues with Pyongyang.

Toward the end, the South Korean government will do the utmost for the success of the resumption in nuclear talks between the two countries. “The South Korean government will not sit still and wait, but play its part for Washington and Pyongyang to generate good outcomes in their upcoming work-level talks,” he said.

Above all, the U.S. and the North are focusing on finding ways to restore their bilateral trust before engaging in dialogues to discuss details on the North's denuclearization, according to the minister.

“It is high time Washington and Pyongyang made specific and substantive progress on details signed in their joint agreement in Singapore, such as the establishment of a new relation between the two, complete denuclearization of the peninsula,” Kim said.

On Monday, Defense Minister Jeong Kyeong-doo met with a delegation of the Atlantic Council, a think tank based in the U.S., and discussed the South Korean government's ongoing efforts for sustainable peace and denuclearization here.

The defense chief and the delegation agreed on the need for Seoul and Washington to continue strengthening their solid security alliance in a way to keep Pyongyang on the dialogue table.

Jeong and James Jones, executive chairman emeritus at the council, also reached a consensus in making bilateral efforts to make the alliance more comprehensive and iron-clad.