S Korea's Senior Diplomat Discusses N Korea, Alliance With US Officials

Mohammad Ali (@ChaudhryMAli88) Published January 31, 2018 | 05:18 PM

A senior South Korea diplomat has discussed North Korea and other pending issues with high-ranking US officials in recent back-to-back meetings, the foreign ministry here said Wednesday, Yonhap report said

SEOUL,(APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 31st Jan, 2018 ) ::A senior South Korea diplomat has discussed North Korea and other pending issues with high-ranking US officials in recent back-to-back meetings, the foreign ministry here said Wednesday, Yonhap report said.

Yoon Soon-gu, a deputy foreign minister, was in Washington for a two-day run that began Monday (local time) where he met with US diplomats and defence officials to discuss issues of mutual concern, according to the ministry.

Among those he met include Susan Thornton, the US assistant secretary of state for East Asian and Pacific affairs; Joseph Yun, top nuclear envoy; and Randall Schriver, assistant secretary of defence for Asian and Pacific affairs, the ministry said.

They shared the view that it is important to maintain close coordination in making the recently resumed talks on the North's participation in the PyeongChang Winter Olympics into "meaningful" dialogue and create a "virtuous" cycle of turning it into efforts to resolve the North's nuclear problem, the ministry said.

They also underlined Vice President Mike Pence's planned visit to Seoul in time for the opening of next month's Olympics demonstrates US' strong commitment to solidarity between their people and support for a successful hosting of the sporting event, the ministry added.

The meetings came amid concerns that the North's participation in the Feb. 9-25 Winter Olympics after repeated provocations last year might be intended to drive a wedge between South Korea and the United States.

The Seoul government is hoping that the growing sense of cross-border rapprochement could translate into efforts to resolve the current nuclear stalemate. "Deputy foreign minister Yoon's meetings are intended to consolidate communication and policy coordination at each level with high-ranking officials in charge of US diplomatic and defense measures for the Korean Peninsula and the Asia-Pacific region," the ministry said.