Seoul: South Korea and the United States are in discussions to hold a regular meeting on coordinating the allies' policy on North Korea, Seoul's Foreign Ministry said Tuesday.
Foreign Ministry spokesperson Park Il made the announcement in a regular press briefing, saying working-level talks have been underway for months to hash out the details of the proposed meeting.
"Through the meeting, we plan to discuss overall policy toward North Korea, including ways to bring the North back to the dialogue table," Park said, Yonhap News Agency reported.
Seoul and Washington have reportedly reached a consensus on the need to have such a regular channel to enable timely consultations on North Korea-related issues. However, the two sides are not considering setting up a permanent consultative body, according to officials.
The move comes as the Lee Jae Myung administration seeks to mend frayed ties with North Korea and resume dialogue despite Pyongyang's silence toward Seoul's peace overtures.
US President Donald Trump has expressed his intent to meet North Korean leader Kim Jong-un to resume stalled diplomacy.
Acting US Ambassador to South Korea Kevin Kim reaffirmed Monday that the "complete denuclearisation" of North Korea remains the policy shared with South Korea, after the phrase was absent from a new U.S. security strategy document.
On December 3, South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Hyun reiterated the need to pursue diplomacy with North Korea in tandem with joint efforts by Seoul and Washington to bolster deterrence against growing threats from the recalcitrant regime.
Cho delivered video remarks to a Washington-based forum, as he commented on a recently released joint fact sheet on security and trade agreements between South Korea and the United States, which he described as having charted a path toward a "future-oriented, comprehensive strategic" alliance between the two countries.
Released on November 13, the fact sheet contains a series of the allies' deterrence efforts, including President Trump's support for Seoul's push to secure nuclear-powered, conventionally-armed submarines and Seoul's commitment to increasing defence spending to 3.5 per cent of its gross domestic product.
"Yet, deterrence must be paired with diplomacy,” Cho said during the forum jointly hosted by the Centre for Strategic and International Studies and the Korea Foundation. "We need to prevent inadvertent conflict, de-escalate tensions and restore dialogue with North Korea."
Both Seoul and Washington have expressed their willingness to resume dialogue with Pyongyang, but it remains uncertain whether the regime would accede to repeated dialogue overtures at a time when its reliance on Russia for food, fuel and other necessities has increased in recent years.
The minister said that the fact sheet reaffirmed the "ironclad" nature of the bilateral alliance and aimed to strengthen peace while preparing for challenges ahead.
"At the heart of this partnership lies our shared commitment to peace and stability," he said. "Securing peace on the Korean Peninsula, therefore, remains the foundation of our joint endeavour."
--IANS