Top nuclear negotiators from South Korea and the United States held talks in Germany on Thursday to discuss cooperation toward progress in working-level talks with North Korea, which are expected to resume this month, Seoul's foreign ministry said.
This photo, taken on June 28, 2019, shows South Korea's top nuclear envoy, Lee Do-hoon (R), and his US counterpart Stephen Biegun, holding talks at the foreign ministry in Seoul. (Yonhap)
South Korea's chief nuclear envoy, Lee Do-hoon, met with his US counterpart, Stephen Biegun, in Berlin as Washington and Pyongyang are seeking to re-launch their nuclear talks, likely in the middle of this month.
During their impromptu meeting at the Demilitarized Zone separating the two Koreas on June 30, US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un agreed to resume the negotiation that has been stalled since their no-deal summit in Hanoi in February.
"The two sides agreed to continue diplomatic efforts for the early resumption of working-level talks as agreed on by the leaders of the North and the US," the ministry said in a press release.
"(Lee and Biegun) held in-depth discussions over ways to cooperate to ensure that the working-level negotiation will lead to substantive progress for the goal shared by the South and the US of achieving the complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula and establishing a lasting peace," it added.
The date and venue of the working-level talks have yet to be announced.
Expected to be at issue are how to reach consensus on the shared definition of the North's denuclearization, how to proceed with its nuclear disarmament and what concessions should be given in return.
(Yonhap)
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