Status quo not an option for Korean Peninsula: S. Korean FM

Maintaining the status quo is not an option when it comes to North Korea, South Korean Foreign Minister Chung Eui-yong said Friday, urging the North to quickly return to dialogue.

The top South Korean diplomat also insisted maintaining the status quo would actually lead to greater instability not only on the Korean Peninsula but throughout Northeast Asia while having global implications.

"As I have repeatedly said publicly, maintaining status quo in the Korean Peninsula issues is not an option," Chung said while speaking with reporters in Honolulu.

"As time passes, North Korea's nuclear missile capability will continue to develop, and if that happens, the security conditions of the Korean Peninsula will worsen and that will lead to instability not only on the Korean Peninsula but in Northeast Asia and the entire world," he added.

Chung is currently on a visit to Hawaii for bilateral and trilateral talks with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Japanese Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi that will focus on ways to bring North Korea back to the discussion table.

Chung's visit here follows a series of North Korean missile launches this year.

The US says the North fired nine ballistic missiles during seven rounds of missile tests in January, marking a record number of missile tests it conducted in a single month.

Pyongyang has maintained a self-imposed moratorium on nuclear and long-range missile testing since late 2017, but said in January that it may consider restarting all temporarily-suspended activities.

The North's missile launches in January included the firing of an intermediate-range ballistic missile which was the longest-range missile launched by North Korea since November 2017.

Chung urged the North to refrain from further provocation and return to open discourse.

"Our government strongly urges North Korea not to translate its mention of possibly lifting the moratorium on testing into action and return to the dialogue table," the top South Korean diplomat said.

"I believe the North can come to dialogue and make any demands they may have to the US or us. (We) once again strongly urge North Korea to do so," added Chung.

Seoul has been pushing for a formal declaration to the end to the Korean War as a way of restarting dialogue with the North.

However, White House National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan earlier hinted at possible differences between Seoul and Washington over when such a declaration could or should be made, saying, "We may have somewhat different perspectives on the precise sequence or timing or conditions for different steps."

Chung insisted there has been no difference of opinion between the allies from the start.

"I believe the US has no discomforting thoughts over an end of war declaration. I believe it must be done because North Korea too has noted the need for an end of war declaration with us and China also has consistently supported such a move," he said.

"I believe it will be done."

His remarks come after South Korean President Moon Jae-in said Seoul and Washington have agreed on the wording of the Seoul-proposed declaration in a joint interview with Yonhap News Agency and seven other global newswires this week.

"There has been no difference of view between South Korea and the US on the timing (of the declaration)," Chung reiterated.

Chung's talks with his US and Japanese counterparts, set to be held Saturday, will follow talks between the countries' top nuclear envoys here on Thursday.

"There was significant preparation work done between the top nuclear negotiators, and so I look forward to productive consultations based on such work," Chung said.

Noh Kyu-duk, South Korea's top nuclear envoy, said on Thursday he had very meaningful and productive meetings with his US and Japanese counterparts, Sung Kim and Takehiro Funakoshi, respectively.

"First, we shared our views on the seriousness of the situation on the Korean Peninsula and discussed several ways to engage with North Korea," he said.

North Korea has refrained from attending any denuclearization negotiations since late 2019. It also remains unresponsive to all US overtures. (Yonhap)