WASHINGTON, Jan. 17 (Yonhap) -- South Korea, the United States and Japan agreed Tuesday to keep the door for talks with North Korea open, an official said after their trilateral meeting intended to discuss the next steps in dealing with the communist nation under a new leadership.
"Through today's meeting, South Korea, the U.S. and Japan agreed to an opinion that the path for the resumption of talks (with North Korea) is open," the South's chief nuclear envoy Lim Sung-nam told reporters.
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South Korea's top nuclear envoy Lim Sung-nam (2nd from right) poses for a photo before talks in Washington on Jan. 17 with his U.S. and Japanese counterparts, Glyn Davies (L) and Shinsuke Sugiyama (2nd from left), along with Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs Kurt Campbell. (Yonhap) |
Lim participated in a day-long meeting at the State Department with his American and Japanese counterparts, Glyn Davies and Shinsuke Sugiyama, and Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs Kurt Campbell.
It marked the first high-level talks among the three nations since the death of the North's leader, Kim Jong-il, in December.
The world is keeping tabs on the leadership of Kim's third son, Jong-un, believed to be in his late 20s.
The allies also agreed that "South-North Korean relations and the U.S.-North Korea relationship can be improved through dialogue," Lim added.
He said that the three parties will also closely consult with the other members of the six-way nuclear talks -- China and Russia.
In a separate press release, the U.S. assured that it remains committed to the six-way talks.
"In the meetings, we reaffirmed our commitment to the Sept. 19, 2005 Joint Statement of the Six-Party Talks, including its core goal of the verifiable denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula in a peaceful manner," the State Department said.
"We agreed on the importance of improvement in inter-Korean relations and resolution of the abductions issue."
The department hinted that South Korea, the U.S. and Japan will hold foreign ministerial talks in the foreseeable future.
"Secretary (Hillary) Clinton looks forward to meeting with her counterparts for a trilateral at the ministerial level later this year at a time of mutual convenience," it said. "We also look forward to engaging with China, Russia and other key partners on these important regional issues."
Another senior South Korean official said the three nations sought to send a positive political message to the North.
Speaking on the condition of anonymity, however, he said it is still premature to expect the resumption of dialogue between Pyongyang and Washington or the six-party talks anytime soon.
The North recently issued a statement that it would never deal with the South's Lee Myung-bak administration, claiming it did not pay proper respects with regard to Kim's death.
Pyongyang's foreign ministry also broke diplomatic customs by unilaterally revealing the details of its closed-door talks with the U.S. on food aid.
lcd@yna.co.kr
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