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On a visit to South Korea, US Secretary of State Stephen Biegan and the special representative for North Korea urged North Korea to return to the dialogue table, saying that the Singapore agreement between the leaders of the The United States and North Korea is still in force. He also stressed that the US-Korea alliance should play a role in the Indo-Pacific region beyond the Korean peninsula. Reporter Kim Hwan-yong reports from Seoul.
On the 10th, US Under Secretary of State Stephen Biegan and the Special Representative for North Korea gave a lecture on the theme “The Future of the United States and the Korean Peninsula” at the Asan Institute for Political Studies in Seoul.
Vice Minister Vegan, who served as North Korea’s special representative and led negotiations with North Korea for the past two years, was delivering the last message to North Korea ahead of the US regime change next month.
At a conference, Veegan urged North Korea to resume the dialogue, saying that the Singapore agreement reached at the first summit meeting between US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un in June 2018, is still valid.
“We have not made progress on the agreement, but the potential of the Singapore Summit lives on,” Veegan said.
The Singapore Summit Agreement consists of four terms: establishment of a new relationship between the United States and North Korea, establishment of a stable and sustainable peace regime on the Korean peninsula, complete denuclearization of the Korean peninsula, and repatriation of the remnants of the Korean War.
“Despite the withdrawal, disappointment, and missed opportunities in the past two years, we believe that the vision for the Korean Peninsula shared by President Trump and President Kim Jong-un is possible, and our work is not done yet.” . I did.
Vice Minister Vegan also expressed regret during the negotiations with North Korea.
[녹취: 비건 부장관] “Unfortunately, our North Korean counterparts have wasted many opportunities in the last two years …”“Unfortunately, North Korea’s negotiating partner has wasted too many opportunities in the last two years,” Veegan said. “Pyongyang has tried harder to find obstacles to negotiations rather than seize the opportunity for dialogue.”
In particular, he regretted the lack of working-level negotiations ahead of the Hanoi-North Korea summit in February 2019.
“The problem in Hanoi was that the North Korean negotiator was not authorized to denuclearize,” he said as a lesson. “I hope North Korea learns this too.”
So far, the top-down negotiations led by the leaders of the United States and North Korea have been carried out, but it can be interpreted as a sign of the importance of the labor-level negotiations that have been delegated.
“Our efforts are not over and we shouldn’t,” Veegan said. “I am convinced that diplomacy is the best and only way to solve the problem.”
[녹취: 비건 부장관] “The war is over. The time of conflict is over and the time for peace has come …”“The war is over, and the United States, South Korea, and North Korea must join forces to succeed in ending the era of conflict and entering the era of peace,” Veegan said.
The Vegan Vice Minister, in particular, referring to the Eighth Labor Party Congress in North Korea, which is scheduled to take place in January next year, said he strongly urged North Korea to use its time from now until then to set the direction. to resume diplomacy.
“We hope that the United States and North Korea will eventually end up in serious diplomacy that involves constant engagement and tough deals, but with huge rewards,” he added. “It is time for the two countries to move forward.”
Park Won-gon, a professor in the Department of International Area Studies at Handong University, said the vice minister’s lecture sent a message to North Korea that the United States remains open to dialogue even after the launch of the new administration.
[녹취: 박원곤 교수] “From the point of view of Vegan, who is in charge of the acquisition at the moment, he was not only speaking his own opinions, but he may have communicated with the new management teams to some extent. Therefore, it is judged that, even after this, the United States is sending a message that at least the door to dialogue with North Korea is open. “Veegan also expressed his views on the role and challenges of the US-Korean alliance.
Minister Vegan stressed that the alliance should play a role in the Indo-Pacific region beyond the Korean peninsula.
“The situation on the Korean peninsula has clearly changed in the last 70 years, and the alliance must evolve.” Said.
“The United States-Korea alliance can open an era of peace in the Indo-Pacific, that is, an era of peace, protection and prosperity for all those who make up the Indo-Pacific.”
He also referred to the United States and South Korea as “pillars of democracy in the Indo-Pacific region.”
Before the conference, Vice Minister Vegan held a breakfast with South Korean Unification Minister Lee In-young in the morning in Seoul.
According to the Unification Ministry, Vice Minister Vegan said, “The role and importance of inter-Korean relations and the Korean government is excellent for establishing peace on the Korean peninsula.” “I strongly support inter-Korean cooperation, including humanitarian cooperation.”
He also stated that “the window of opportunity for North Korea remains open.”
Minister Lee evaluated the efforts made by Minister Vegan to advance the peace process on the Korean Peninsula. I hope I can. “
The Unification Ministry reported that the two recognized that it is now more important than ever for the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula and reaffirmed the need for cooperation between the two countries to advance the peace process on the Korean Peninsula.
After a dinner with South Korean Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha on the 11th, Vice Minister Vegan will leave Korea on the morning of the 12th after finishing the 3-night, 4-day visit to Korea.
This is the news from the Seoul VOA, Kim Hwan-yong.
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