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South Korean Foreign Minister Chung Eui-yong (Ministry of Foreign Affairs) |
SEOUL/WASHINGTON -- Foreign Minister Chung Eui-yong and US Secretary of State Antony Blinken agreed to make continued efforts to engage with North Korea and foster lasting peace on the Korean Peninsula during their phone talks Friday, the foreign ministry said.
The talks came after last week's restoration of inter-Korean communication channels fueled hopes for the resumption of nuclear diplomacy with North Korea, though growing optimism for dialogue was tempered by the North's warning that the planned South Korea-US military exercise would cast clouds over inter-Korean relations.
"The minister and secretary agreed that the South and the US would continue to make coordinated diplomatic efforts for substantive progress toward the goal of the complete denuclearization and establishment of permanent peace on the Korean Peninsula," the ministry said in a press release.
"Especially, the two countries held concrete consultations on ways for cooperation with the North, including humanitarian cooperation, and agreed to continue efforts for engagement with the North," it added.
The US State Department said Blinken reiterated US support for inter-Korean reconcilation.
"The secretary and the foreign minister reaffirmed their commitment to complete denuclearization and establishment of permanent peace on the Korean Peninsula, and the secretary confirmed US support for inter-Korean dialogue and engagement," spokesman Ned Price said in a released statement.
"The secretary and the foreign minister also discussed recent developments in the DPRK and agreed to explore humanitarian initiatives on the Korean Peninsula," he added, referring to North Korea by its official name, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.
In a tweet, Blinken said that during the "good" conversation with Chung, he reaffirmed US support for inter-Korean dialogue and engagement, as well as the importance of the South Korea-US alliance for the complete denuclearization and creation of lasting peace on the peninsula. (Yonhap)
