강경화 "북미 실무협상, 수주내 재개 예상"
The United States has revealed that working-level discussions with North Korea won't be happening soon,... but South Korea's top diplomat remains optimistic.
Kang Kyung-wha says she believes they will restart within the next several weeks as there are signs the North is ready to negotiate.
Our Park Hee-jun has this report. South Korea's Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha expects nuclear talks between North Korea and the U.S. to resume within the coming weeks.
She shared her views during a meeting Friday with correspondents on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York.
Her remarks came a day after U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said negotiations that were anticipated to resume by the end of September,... were unlikely to take place within that timeframe.
Kang offered similarly optimistic comments during an interview with Bloomberg TV on Friday,... saying there are rising signs the North is ready to return to talks.
Asked about prospects for a third summit between North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and U.S. President Donald Trump,... Kang said it's a (quote) "big hypothesis."
But she stressed Pyeongyang needs to suspend its short-range missile tests as they negatively impact the current momentum toward dialogue.
According to Kang,... South Korea is maintaining a restrained posture to keep that momentum going.
She also addressed the escalating Seoul-Tokyo trade dispute.
Although it appears Washington is doing little to resolve the conflict,... she said the U.S. is playing its part, in ways that maintain the trilateral alliance between Seoul, Washington and Tokyo.
The U.S. State Department, in fact, made it clear on Thursday that it hopes South Korea and Japan work together, looking to the future rather than dwelling on the past, hinting that the U.S. is more engaged than meets the eye.
A senior State Department official said Washington is even engaged actively in the two countries' military intelligence sharing pact, which Seoul recently opted to terminate.
Asked whether the issue was brought up during the one-on-one between President Trump and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe,... the official said specific details could not be revealed.
The official also declined to comment on whether there could be a three-way summit between the leaders of the three nations.
Park Hee-jun, Arirang News.
