Foreign minister Kang to meet Pompeo in Washington

Published : May 10, 2018 - 11:41 Updated : May 10, 2018 - 15:24

South Korean Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha is set to hold talks with US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Friday in Washington, D.C., ahead of the historic summit between North Korea and the US, the Foreign Ministry said Thursday.

South Korean Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha, left, and US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo (AP)

During the meeting, the countries’ top diplomats will exchange views on the outcome of the April 27 inter-Korean summit, ways to enhance policy coordination on achieving denuclearization of North Korea and building a peace regime on the peninsula, according to the ministry.

Also high on the agenda would be Pompeo’s recent trip to North Korea, where he met North Korean leader Kim Jong-un again to finalize plans for the upcoming North Korea-US summit. He returned to the US on Thursday, with three Americans released from detention in North Korea.

Their meeting is to pave the way for the summit between South Korean President Moon Jae-in and US President Donald Trump scheduled for May 22 in the US. It will be followed by Trump’s meeting with Kim expected to take place by mid-June.

Kang and Pompeo are also to discuss ways to strengthen the countries’ 65-year-old alliance, and other pending issues, according to the ministry.

Following their meeting, they plan to hold a joint press conference.

It will be Kang’s first face-to-face meeting with her US counterpart who was appointed in April. They had the first phone call on April 28.

Meanwhile, South Korea’s top nuclear envoy Lee Do-hoon also left for Washington on Wednesday for a four-day visit. He plans to meet key officials in charge of Korea policy, including Susan Thornton, acting US assistant secretary of state for East Asian and Pacific affairs, and Matthew Pottinger, senior director for Asian affairs at the National Security Council, according to the ministry.

(laeticia.ock@heraldcorp.com)