S. Korean, US and Japanese security chiefs vow to avoid past mistakes

Seoul’s National Security Office chief Chung Eui-yong met with his US and Japanese counterparts and agreed on close collaboration on denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula, Cheong Wa Dae revealed Monday. 

According to Cheong Wa Dae spokesman Kim Eui-kyeom, Chung met with US National Security Advisor H. R. McMaster and Japan’s Shotaro Yachi in San Francisco in a trilateral meeting held in San Francisco on Saturday and Sunday. The three nations’ top national security officers discussed the upcoming inter-Korean and US-North Korea summits, and ways to bring about denuclearization of the North.

“The attendants agreed on the importance of avoiding past mistakes (in dealing with North Korea), and to continue close collaboration over the coming weeks,” Kim said. 

National Security Office chief Chung Eui-yong arrives at the Incheong Internatioal Airport on March 15 from his trip to China and Russia. Yonhap

The inter-Korean summit is scheduled for the end of April, and the US-North Korea summit is set to be held some time in May.

According to a high level Cheong Wa Dae official, the meeting was focused on discussions between South Korean and US officials, and the results of Seoul officials trips to China, Russia and Japan were shared with the attendants.

President Moon Jae-in had dispatched Chung, and National Intelligence Service Director Suh Hoon to the three countries following their trips to Pyongyang and Washington earlier this month.

Chung and Suh traveled to Pyongyang on March 5 as Moon’s special envoys, and met with US President Donald Trump on March 9.

By Choi He-suk (cheesuk@heraldcorp.com)