강경화, 이도훈 미국으로 출국, "가장 중요한건 북미 간 협상 어떻게 재개할지"
The South Korean foreign minister is on her way to Washington for talks with Secretary Pompeo.
Going with her is the South Korean nuclear envoy who'll meet with his own counterpart.
They'll be talking about the way forward with North Korea.
Lee Ji-won reports.
Boarding a flight to the U.S. on Thursday,... South Korea's Foreign Affairs Minister Kang Kyung-wha is off to meet with U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Friday morning, local time, in Washington.
"We talked over the phone after the Hanoi summit,... and during this sitdown, we'll continue to share our evaluations on the developments regarding talks with the North, as well as how we can cooperate to move forward. I think it'll be a productive meeting."
The two diplomats' face-to-face will be their first since the second North Korea-U.S. summit ended prematurely in late February.
But before that, Kang's first stop will be New York to attend the UN's Peacekeeping Ministerial Conference.
Minutes after Kang's departure, Seoul's Special Representative for Korean Peninsula Peace and Security Affairs Lee Do-hoon set off on a separate flight heading directly to Washington.
He'll be accompanying Kang during her sitdown with Pompeo, but will also have his own sitdown with his American counterpart.
"The ministers will discuss general North Korea-related matters,... while Washington's special representative Stephen Biegun and I work on the details. The most important matter for us right now is finding a way to resume North Korea-U.S. talks."
Lee also said, since he visited Russia recently, and Biegun China, they plan on sharing the results of their visits and finding ways to maintain the current momentum for dialogue with the two key players in North Korea's denuclearization.
When asked about Washington's firm stance on its sanctions campaign, Lee replied it's something the U.S. has repeatedly said, and added,... despite that, President Trump's recent tweet on withdrawing sanctions on the regime shows how he wants to continue talks with the North.
Lee also denied reports of discord between Seoul and Washington by saying he does not see it himself, especially with many U.S. policies in line with Seoul's stance.
Other possible agendas could include the issue of sanctions and making progress on inter-Korean cooperation, including the possible reopening of the Gaeseong Industrial Complex.
Lee Ji-won, Arirang News.
