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| © News1 Designer Eunhyun Lee |
North Korea’s nuclear negotiators from Korea, the United States and Japan held a videoconference for the first time in a month after the inauguration of the US administration.
In particular, at this meeting held on the 19th, the US side focused on strengthening relations with key allies in the region, emphasizing close trilateral cooperation.
There is also a prospect that the US is not trying to mediate the conflict between Korea and Japan through the North Korean nuclear issue as the ROK-Japan relations are approaching the worst over the Japanese military comfort women and compulsory conscription judgments against the Japanese government and companies during the Japanese colonial rule.
◇ US Department of State “Consultation with Korea and Japan as part of reviewing North Korea policy”
According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Noh Gyu-deok, head of the Korean Peninsula Peace Bargaining Headquarters, held a video consultation with Seong Kim, Assistant Secretary of State for East Asia and Pacific Affairs of the United States Department of State, and Takehiro Funakoshi, head of the Japanese Foreign Ministry, Asia and Ocean Territory.
The US State Department also delivered news of the negotiations on the same day, saying, “The Biden administration is committed to strengthening the alliance, especially with Korea and Japan, key allies in Northeast Asia.”
In particular, the State Department said, “Participants in this consultation discussed the ongoing review of the US policy toward North Korea and emphasized the importance of close cooperation and coordination.”
The Biden administration is virtually abolishing the “top-down” (top-down) North Korean nuclear diplomacy of the former Donald Trump administration and refining its detailed strategy. The Biden government has announced that this process will be “with the alliance”, and in fact, that day, the council was launched.
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| Noh Gyu-deok, head of the Korean Peninsula Peace Bargaining Headquarters of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, is holding a video consultation with the North Korean nuclear negotiators in the US and Japan on the 19th. (Ministry of Foreign Affairs) © News1 |
In particular, the Ministry of State referred to both Korea and Japan as the’core alliances in Northeast Asia’ and emphasized the importance of trilateral cooperation between the two countries to resolve the North Korean nuclear issue.
In this regard, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Korea said, “The ROK, the United States and Japan have agreed to share their assessment of the recent situation on the Korean Peninsula, and to cooperate and cooperate closely to achieve complete denuclearization and permanent peace settlement on the Korean Peninsula.”
The Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs explained, “We have confirmed that Korea, the US and Japan will work closely together toward realizing the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula in accordance with the resolution of the UN Security Council, while matching the perceptions of the recent situation in North Korea.”
◇ Observation of the US, Korea-Japan conflict with’arbitration’
In the midst of these discussions, it is evaluated that the US’s willingness to improve Korea-Japan relations could also be seen. This is because the three countries’ officials faced each other as the US government continued to worry about the conflict between Korea and Japan.
Accordingly, there are observations that there is a possibility that the US, which has even put up a position of’sorry’ to the recent Korea-Japan conflict, may attempt to improve Korea-Japan relations by leveraging the review of North Korea policy.
From the standpoint of the United States, trilateral cooperation between the United States and Korea is important not only for the North Korean nuclear program, but also for’checking China’. The Biden administration has recently strengthened diplomatic and military pressures targeting China, emphasizing solidarity among its allies in the region.
Meanwhile, Minister of Foreign Affairs Eui-yong Eui-yong publicly stated in an answer to the National Assembly on the 18th that “if necessary, you can get help from the United States” to improve Korea-Japan relations.