S. Korea, U.S. in final-stage talks over end-of-war declaration: unification minister

Foreign Minister Chung Ui-yong, left, and Unification Minister Lee In-young talk prior to a general meeting of National Assembly Foreign Affairs and Unification Committee at the National Assembly on Yeouido, Seoul, Nov. 19. Yonhap

South Korea and the United States are in the final-stage of talks over President Moon Jae-in's proposal for the declaration of a formal end to the 1950-53 Korean War, a top official said Friday.

Unification Minister Lee In-young made the remarks during a forum on international relations, as the government has been striving to accelerate consultations with Washington over the proposal, which it says would serve as a catalyst to resume denuclearization talks with North Korea.

"The South and the U.S. have been holding very serious, deep consultations regarding the end-of-war declaration," he said. "I can say that to a certain extent, those discussions are entering a final stage."

Saying that a "sign of change" on the Korean Peninsula has been emerging, the minister predicted that the North would not do things that would escalate tensions for the time being.

"Still, the North has continued to conduct short-range missile tests, but kept a level short of crossing the red line," the minister said.

"However, we can't make a conclusive judgment, the North might not behave in a way that would foment tensions in a high-intensity, strategic way or escalate them," he added.

In recent months, the Moon administration has been stepping up diplomacy with Washington, Tokyo and other concerned parties to elicit their support to bring Pyongyang back to dialogue and move forward on its stalled peace agenda. (Yonhap)