South Korea's ambassador to the United States reaffirmed Seoul's willingness to help revive dialogue between Washington and Pyongyang, saying maintaining peace on the Korean Peninsula remains a key policy focus.
Ambassador Kang Kyung-wha made the remarks Tuesday at an event in Washington marking South Korea's National Day and Armed Forces Day, amid renewed attention to the prospects for US-North Korea diplomacy as US President Donald Trump has expressed hopes of meeting North Korean leader Kim Jong-un within the year.
"We closely follow President Trump's recent messages, demonstrating his commitment to peace on the Korean Peninsula and his willingness to resume US-North Korea dialogue," Kang said. She added that Seoul remains in close coordination with Washington over its approach toward North Korea.
"As a party directly concerned, the Republic of Korea government will actively take the role of a pacemaker and seek to create conditions that allow for constructive discussions toward building confidence and resuming dialogue between the United States and North Korea," she said.
Kang said Seoul would also work to create conditions for any future US-North Korea talks to expand into broader engagement among relevant countries. Longer-term goals include formally ending the 1950-53 Korean War, establishing a peace regime and achieving the "complete" denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula.
The ambassador also addressed the allies' ongoing push for the conditions-based transfer of wartime operational control from Washington to Seoul, describing the envisioned handover as an "important milestone" in "modernizing" the South Korea-US alliance.
On economic ties, Kang said South Korea's $350 billion investment commitment in the US under the bilateral trade agreement reached last year was taking "concrete shape" as the two sides identify specific projects. She said the investments would help bolster future-oriented industries in both countries.
"These investments will also lead to tangible benefits for the peoples of both Korea and the US by creating high-paying jobs in both countries, ultimately deepening our bilateral relationship even further," Kang said.
Kang's remarks follow a meeting between President Lee Jae Myung and Trump in New York last week. Diplomatic sources said the recent progress on the investment issue helped create momentum for the talks.
During the meeting, the two leaders welcomed progress in negotiations over South Korea's investment commitments and discussed a range of security issues, including shipbuilding cooperation, nuclear-powered submarines, uranium enrichment and spent nuclear fuel reprocessing, according to Seoul's presidential office.
The two sides understood that consultations on those issues should move forward more quickly, according to diplomatic sources familiar with the discussions. Lee also provided Trump with a detailed explanation of Seoul's push for the conditions-based transfer of wartime operational control, they said.
Seoul expects progress on the investment package to provide fresh momentum for broader bilateral security consultations and sees a need to move forward without undue delay, particularly with the US midterm elections approaching, the sources added.
Tuesday's event was also attended by Sen. Andy Kim, a New Jersey Democrat; Rep. Joe Wilson, a South Carolina Republican; Assistant Secretary of Defense for Indo-Pacific Security Affairs John Noh; and David Wilezol, deputy assistant secretary of state for Korea, Japan and Mongolia.
In remarks at the event, Wilezol urged the two allies to continue working together and seek ways forward "even in spite of challenges."
"Let's be good stewards of the inheritance handed down to us from brave men," he said, paying tribute to US and other troops who fought alongside South Korean forces under the UN banner during the Korean War.
mkjung@heraldcorp.com
