MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 22nd August, 2018) The opening of an inter-Korean liaison office in the North Korean town of Kaesong is not violating the UN sanctions against North Korea, spokesman for the South Korean presidential office Kim Eui-kyeom said on Wednesday, pointing at multiple diplomatic missions in the North Korean capital.
On Monday, a US official told South Korea's Chosun Ilbo newspaper that the proposed office might violate the UN Security Council's and United States' sanctions against North Korea, since Seoul was going to supply the office with electricity, equipment and construction materials, among other things.
"Already, there are 24 foreign embassies in Pyongyang, including those from Britain and Germany. Setting up a joint liaison office, in fact, is a much lower step," Kim said, as quoted by the Yonhap news agency.
The decision to open the liaison office was made in April at the summit of South Korean President Moon Jae-in and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.
The United States and the UN Security Council have imposed numerous rounds of sanctions on North Korea for its nuclear and missile tests. In June, Kim and US President Donald Trump reached an agreement that North Korea would denuclearize in exchange for a freeze of US-South Korean military drills and potential sanctions relief.
