On the 18th (local time), US State Department special representative for North Korea, Sung Kim, urged North Korea to respond to dialogue with the nuance that the issue of an end-of-war declaration on the Korean Peninsula could be a subject of negotiations between the US and North Korea.



Representative Kim made the following remarks after meeting with reporters at the State Department building in Washington DC on the same day after discussing with Noh Kyu-deok, head of the Korean Peninsula Peace Relations Headquarters at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and the South Korea-U.S. North Korean nuclear chief.



Kim said he had discussed a proposal for an end-of-war declaration with General Roh, informed him that he would be visiting South Korea later this week and looked forward to continuing discussions on this and other issues of mutual interest in South Korea.



The Joe Biden administration has attempted to bring North Korea to the denuclearization negotiating table after the end of its North Korea policy review at the end of April, but has not yet received a positive response from North Korea.



Kim reaffirmed his position to pursue diplomacy with North Korea in order to achieve the goal of complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula and to make practical progress, and said, "This includes reviewing possible involvement with North Korea to ease tensions."



After the US continued to reach out to North Korea to resume dialogue, he emphasized that "we do not harbor any hostile intentions toward North Korea. We are open to meetings without preconditions."



He then emphasized the implementation of the UN Security Council resolutions on North Korea, the protection of the human rights of North Koreans, and the prompt resolution of the issue of Japanese abductees.



He reaffirmed his support for the United States to provide humanitarian aid to North Korea, saying he is ready to work with North Korea to address areas of humanitarian concern.



“We discussed various plans for engagement with North Korea, such as a joint humanitarian cooperation project between South Korea and the United States and meaningful trust-building measures,” Roh explained.



"I think the US side's understanding of the concept of an end-of-war declaration has deepened through a series of discussions," he said.



After mentioning Kim's plan to visit South Korea this weekend, Director Roh also said, "The two countries reaffirmed their common position that when dialogue with North Korea resumes in the future, we can discuss all matters, including those of concern to the North." I expected it.



In recent years, meetings between the chief representatives of North Korea and the United States on nuclear weapons have become increasingly frequent.



The two representatives met in Japan on the 14th of last month and held discussions in Indonesia on the 30th.



North Korea's chief nuclear representatives from the United States, South Korea and Japan also met in Japan on the 13th and 14th of last month, followed by additional consultations in Washington on the 19th local time.



President Kim said, "Three-country cooperation is an absolute key in the approach to North Korea," and Director Roh also said that he plans to continue constructive consultations.



(Photo = Yonhap News)