New optimistic signal for US-North Korea dialogue

South Korean Deputy National Security Adviser Kim Hyun-chong gave this optimistic signal after meeting with US envoy on North Korea, Mr. Stephen Biegun, in Seoul.

Photo: Sputnik

“My impression is that North Korea and the United States will resume dialogue soon, and it will progress well,” Kim told reporters after the hour-long meeting, Reuters reported. But the official did not provide details.

The working-level negotiation mechanism between the US and North Korea has yet to restart since the second summit between North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and US President Donald Trump in Hanoi in late February.

Meeting again in late June at the demilitarized zone between North and South Korea, Mr. Trump and Mr. Kim agreed to continue dialogue.

“We are prepared to engage in dialogue as soon as we receive a response from our North Korean counterpart,” Biegun said on August 21.

The South Korean official also said that South Korea's National Security Council will meet today to review the intelligence-sharing agreement with Japan. The GSOMIA agreement is set to expire this Saturday if either Japan or South Korea decides not to continue it, amid continuing tensions between the two countries.

According to Mr. Kim, Mr. Biegun raised this issue at the meeting because Washington was concerned about the risk of abandoning the agreement. The agreement is a three-way effort over the years to counter North Korea's nuclear and missile threats.

Meanwhile, a North Korean spokesman said today that the recent US test of a medium-range cruise missile and plans to deploy F-35 jets and other military assets to the Korean peninsula were “dangerous” moves that could “ignite a new Cold War” in the region.

But North Korea still maintains its stance of resolving issues through dialogue and negotiation.
However, Pyongyang said “dialogue accompanied by military threats is not something we are interested in,” KCNA news agency quoted a spokesman for the North Korean Foreign Ministry as saying.

“Dangerous and unusual military moves are now ahead that may ignite a new Cold War on the Korean peninsula and the region,” the statement said.

The KCNA report also reiterated its opposition to South Korea’s purchase of high-tech weapons such as the F-35 stealth fighter, calling it a “serious provocation.”

The Pentagon said earlier this week that it had tested a new ground-launched cruise missile with a range of more than 500 km. This was the first test by the US since withdrawing from the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty.