South Korea and the United States have agreed to work together closely for the success of their upcoming dialogue with North Korea that could determine the fate of the countries and the world, Seoul's top security adviser said Tuesday.
"We have agreed the US-North Korea summit must succeed not only for peace and stability of the Korean Peninsula but those of the entire world," Chung Eui-yong, head of the National Security Office, said of his meeting with his US counterpart, H.R. McMaster.
"And we held in-depth discussions on various ways and issues to realize this goal and agreed to continue discussing frequently in the future," the top security adviser to South Korean President Moon Jae-in said after arriving at Seoul's Incheon International Airport.
South Korean National Security chief Chung Eui-yong, left, and US counterpart H.R. McMaster (Yonhap-AP)
The Chung-McMaster meeting was held in San Francisco over the weekend. The two-day meeting also involved their Japanese counterpart, Shotaro Yachi, officials from the South Korean presidential office Cheong Wa Dae said earlier.
"The three countries agreed to work closely together for the success of the South-North summit that will be held in late April and the US-North Korea summit to be held shortly thereafter," Chung said.
Chung's latest US trip marked the second of its kind following his rare visit to the communist North as Moon's special envoy on March 5-6.
It was his trip that helped arrange the upcoming summits among the leaders of South Korea, the US and North Korea.
The inter-Korean summit, if held, will mark the third of its kind, but the first to be held on South Korean soil as it is set to be held on the South Korean side of the joint security area, also known as Panmunjom, inside the heavily fortified Demilitarized Zone.
The proposed US-North Korea summit will mark the first of its kind in history. US President Donald Trump has said he will meet the North Korean leader before the end of May. (Yonhap)