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South Korean First Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs Choi Jong-kun poses for a photo with US Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman in Washington on Wednesday. (provided by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs)

Meeting with US Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman in Washington on Wednesday, South Korean First Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs Choi Jong-kun reached an agreement to continue “persistently” with close coordination toward resuming practical dialogue with North Korea.

Meeting with reporters that day after the first in-person meeting between the South Korean and US vice foreign ministers, Choi said, “We laid the groundwork for swift implementation of follow-up measures to the South Korea-US summit in May.”

North Korea issues were reportedly the first topic addressed at the meeting, taking up around 15 minutes of its 70-minute duration.

Choi reportedly expressed the view that North Korea’s failure to respond yet to the US’s proposal to communicate so that it can explain its new North Korea policy should not necessarily be viewed negatively, adding that it could be seen as having various implications.

He also reportedly shared his assessment that North Korea is currently “self-sanctioning” with the closure of its national borders amid the COVID-19 pandemic, explaining that the fact that it did not flatly reject the US proposal could be taken to mean that it is considering it internally.

Choi further predicted that with North Korea facing a difficult domestic situation due to the virus, Seoul and Washington could expect positive results if they engage with Pyongyang persistently and with a sense of continuity. Sherman reportedly expressed the US’ agreement with his position.

South Korea’s bilateral cooperation with Japan, as well as its trilateral cooperation with Japan and the US, also appear to have been topics of major focus at the meeting Wednesday.

During the meeting, Choi reportedly said that Seoul would approach trilateral cooperation “very actively.” While there are many things that functionally need to be resolved between South Korea and Japan, Seoul does not want historical issues to “eat away” at bilateral relations, he was quoted as saying.

Other issues discussed between the two include COVID-19 vaccines, cooperation in high technology and supply chains, cooperation with ASEAN and the countries of northern Central America, and the current situation in Myanmar, Choi said.

In its own spokesperson’s readout, the US State Department said, “Deputy Secretary Sherman and Vice Foreign Minister Choi highlighted U.S.-ROK cooperation on shared priorities, including addressing the climate crisis, building relations and addressing challenges in the Indo-Pacific, strengthening cooperation on global health and secure supply chains, and working toward the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula.”

By Hwang Joon-bum, Washington correspondent

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