<Anchor> The



chief representatives of North Korea, the United States and Japan, met in Seoul to discuss ways to cooperate with North Korea. U.S. Special Representative for North Korea Seong Kim recently mentioned the remarks of General Secretary Kim Jong-un and expressed expectations for the resumption of dialogue between the US and North Korea.



Kwak Sang-eun is a reporter.



<Reporter> The



chief representatives of North Korea, the United States, Japan and South Korea met for the first time since the inauguration of the Biden administration.



US Special Representative for North Korea Sung Kim repeatedly urged North Korea to return to dialogue without conditions.



[Sung Kim/US Special Representative for North Korea: We expect North Korea to respond positively to our proposal to meet anytime, anywhere, without conditions.]



Regarding the recent message from North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, “You must be prepared for both dialogue and confrontation

.

” Following what the White House evaluated as an "interesting signal," Seong Kim also said, "I expect it to mean that we can receive a positive reply."



Both South Korea, the US and Japan emphasized solving the North Korean problem through diplomacy.



[Noh Gyu-deok/Director of the Korean Peninsula Peace Relations Division, Ministry of Foreign Affairs: I hope that inter-Korean relations and North Korea-US relations will be restored to a mutually beneficial and solid state.]



[Funakoshi Takehiro/Director of Asian and Oceanic Affairs Bureau, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan: The trilateral cooperation between Korea, the United States and Japan is essential for regional peace and stability. This is a key factor.]



[Hyun-wook Kim/Professor of the National Diplomatic Academy: I think it means that the three countries, South Korea, the US, and Japan will coordinate their stance on North Korea policy and prepare themselves just before dialogue with North Korea.]



However, CEO Sung Kim did not mention specific incentives to bring North Korea to the table of dialogue and reaffirmed the principle that sanctions will not be lifted until dialogue begins.



Following the visit of Minister of Foreign Affairs Chung Eui-yong, CEO Sung Kim is known to meet with Unification Minister Lee In-young and National Security Office Director Suh Hoon at the Blue House tomorrow (22nd).



(Video coverage: Oh Young-chun, Video editing: Kim Jong-woo)