Diplomats of S. Korea, US hold talks ahead of FM Kang's visit to US

Diplomats of South Korea and the United States held talks in Seoul on Friday to discuss pending bilateral and regional issues, the foreign ministry said, ahead of Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha's trip to Washington next week.

The meeting between Koh Yun-ju, the ministry's director general for North American affairs, and Marc Knapper, deputy US assistant secretary of state for Korea and Japan, came just days after the US presidential election.

Kang plans to visit the US from Sunday through Wednesday for talks with her US counterpart, Mike Pompeo, congressional officials and others.

"The two sides checked the status of preparations to ensure that Foreign Minister Kang's visit to the US will proceed successfully, and discussed ways to enhance regional cooperation, including cooperation between our New Southern Policy and the US' Indo-Pacific strategy," the ministry said in a press release.

Koh and Knapper also agreed to stably manage bilateral pending issues while continuing close strategic communication "regardless of domestic political schedules," the ministry said.

In addition, the two sides discussed their efforts to institute a bilateral working-level dialogue platform aimed at maintaining close regular communication on a series of pending alliance-related issues.

Knapper arrived here on Thursday to attend a local forum in Seoul. (Yonhap)