Seoul: A senior South Korean official stated Wednesday that there appears to be no special contact between the United States and North Korea despite ongoing speculation regarding potential diplomatic engagements between U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un.
According to Yonhap News Agency, following Trump's recent visit to Beijing, he told reporters of his communication with Kim, describing their relationship as "very good." Trump did not provide details on the nature of these communications. The South Korean official, speaking anonymously during a press meeting, emphasized the close cooperation between South Korea and the U.S. concerning North Korea. The official noted, "If there is contact between the U.S. and North Korea, we are bound to learn about it," suggesting that no such contact is currently underway.
The official also referenced a U.S. fact sheet from last week's summit between Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping, which highlighted their shared goal of denuclearizing North Korea. South Korea confirmed that the U.S. and China share the same denuclearization objective for the Korean Peninsula.
The press meeting coincided with Seoul's First Vice Foreign Minister Park Yoon-joo's visit to Washington, focusing on the implementation of a joint fact sheet issued in November detailing security and trade agreements from the previous year's summit between South Korean President Lee Jae Myung and Trump. Following discussions with U.S. Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs Allison Hooker, it was announced that Hooker will lead a U.S. delegation to establish bilateral working groups on security domain fact sheet implementation.
This fact sheet includes cooperation on South Korea's nuclear-powered submarine initiative and securing rights for civil uranium enrichment and spent nuclear fuel reprocessing. The Seoul official emphasized that these projects will proceed based on bilateral summit agreements reflecting the leaders' cooperative intentions.
On Wednesday, Park met separately with U.S. Under Secretary of Defense Elbridge Colby and Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau. Colby acknowledged South Korea's efforts in leading its defense, while Landau highlighted South Korea's role as a key U.S. economic, trade, and investment partner, urging continued collaboration on the joint fact sheet's implementation.
Before returning to South Korea, Park plans to meet Rep. Young Kim, who chairs the subcommittee on East Asia and Pacific affairs. Park also engaged with John Walters, president of the Hudson Institute, to garner broader support for the joint fact sheet's execution.