SEOUL/WASHINGTON– A senior U.S. State Department official had meetings here with South Korea’s top government officials in charge of inter-Korean affairs Wednesday, during which they discussed the need for North Korea to return to denuclearization talks.
In a Twitter message, Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman said she had “productive” meetings with Unification Minister Kwon Young-se and Vice Unification Minister Kim Ki-woong.
“We discussed the DPRK’s unlawful ballistic missile launches and the need for Pyongyang to engage in dialogue,” she tweeted without elaborating.
The deputy secretary of state also highlighted the importance of trilateral cooperation among the U.S., South Korea and Japan, according to the State Department.
“The Deputy Secretary underscored the importance of close cooperation between and among the United States, the ROK, and Japan to achieve the complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula,” department spokesperson Ned Price said in a press release, referring to South Korea by its official name, the Republic of Korea.
She also expressed concerns over the apparently ongoing COVID-19 outbreak in North Korea.
“Deputy Secretary Sherman expressed support for efforts to prevent the spread of COVID-19 in the DPRK, including inter-Korean cooperation efforts,” said the press release. DPRK stands for the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, North Korea’s official name.
Sherman was on a visit to Seoul for consultations with her South Korean and Japanese counterparts mainly on North Korea, which has reportedly completed preparations for another nuclear test.
Source: Yonhap News Agency