South Korea and the United States will have talks on issues related to Washington’s sanctions on North Korea and Iran for their nuclear programs this week, government sources said Monday.
David S. Cohen, the undersecretary for terrorism and financial intelligence at the Department of the Treasury, arrived in Seoul on Monday for talks with Seoul officials.
Cohen’s visit is part of his trip to Asian countries, including Japan, Singapore and Malaysia.
He will meet with Deputy Finance Minister Eun Sung-soo on Tuesday to discuss ways to step up cooperation in implementing sanctions on the North as well as Iran.
Topics will also include the impact that Washington’s sanctions on Iran are having on South Korean companies doing business with the Middle East country, sources said.
The meeting comes after South Korea’s Finance Minister Hyun Oh-seok expressed concerns during the recent group of 20 meeting in Moscow that the sanctions on Iran are posing challenges for many South Korean small and medium-sized companies doing business there.
The U.S. official will also meet Cho Tae-yong, South Korea’s chief negotiator to the long-stalled six-party talks, Foreign Ministry spokesman Cho Tai-young had said
“The visit is intended for general discussions on (bilateral) cooperation relating to sanctions,” spokesman Cho said.
The six-way dialogue involving the two countries as well as North Korea, China, Japan and Russia is designed to persuade the North to discard its internationally condemned nuclear programs, but the talks have been suspended since late 2008.
(From news reports)
koreaherald@heraldcorp.com
