South Korea's special envoy who was to visit North Korea on Monday hopes to further explore North Korea's intentions for talks with the United States after both sides expressed their willingness to engage each other during the recent PyeongChang Winter Olympics, Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha said.
"Although there were no direct contacts between the US and North Korean delegations on the sidelines of the Olympics, we were able to confirm ... the willingness on both sides to engage directly," Kang said in her speech to the 2018 World Journalists Conference in Seoul.
"Now through our special envoy's visit to Pyongyang, we hope to further explore North Korea's intentions for dialogue," she said.
On Monday afternoon, President Moon Jae-in's delegation, led by National Security Office chief Chung Eui-yong, will depart for North Korea for a two-day stay during which they are expected to discuss ways to enable talks between Pyongyang and Washington with North Korean officials, including possibly leader Kim Jong-un.
South Korean Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-hwa (Yonhap)
Kang said that without progress in North Korea's denuclearization, inter-Korean dialogue cannot take place.
"We are well aware that inter-Korean dialogue and improvements in South-North Korean relations cannot proceed in the absence of progress in the efforts to peacefully resolve the North Korean nuclear issue," she said, adding such progress requires "direct talks" between the US and North Korea.
"Inter-Korean dialogue and US-North Korea dialogue must advance in a mutually reinforcing manner," the minister said.
Lauding North Korea's Olympic participation as "a positive response," Kang warned that another nuclear test or missile launch by the North will "inevitably dampen the atmosphere for dialogue."
She also cautioned that sanctions and pressure on North Korea will remain in place as long as it does not undertake substantial measures for denuclearization.
"So far, North Korea has not indicated any desire to engage in denuclearization talks with the US But it knows very well that with the heavy sanctions placed upon it, its key interests cannot be secured without coming to terms with the US," the foreign minister said, urging the North "to seize this opportunity to engage in sincere dialogue." (Yonhap)
