US-North Korean communication remain actives even in time of crisis

Posted on : 2017-10-02 15:20 KST Modified on : 2017-10-02 15:20 KST
Two sides continue to talk through “New York channel” and “1.5 track”
US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson walks past Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi at the Great People’s Hall in Beijing on Sept. 30. (Yonhap News)
US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson walks past Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi at the Great People’s Hall in Beijing on Sept. 30. (Yonhap News)

The two to three lines of communication between North Korea and the US that US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson mentioned on Sept. 30 are presumed to be the so-called “New York channel” and the “1.5 track” civilian-government meetings between North Korean officials and American private-sector experts that are held in other countries.

The New York channel is a diplomatic channel between the North Korean mission to the UN and the US State Department’s Bureau of Korean Affairs. This reportedly consists of regular meetings that are held once every few weeks – not so much official meetings as luncheons and other interactions between the two countries. This is the primary means North Korea and the US have used to deal with pressing issues thus far. Most recently, this channel was reportedly used to conduct deliberations about the possibility of Choi Sun Hee, Director of the North Korean Foreign Ministry’s US bureau, visiting the US in August. While those negotiations fell through, this channel has received attention since it is evidence that North Korea-US contact is steadily continuing amid rising tensions between the two countries.

The only contact with North Korea that the Trump administration has officially acknowledged thus far was the negotiations in June for the release of American university student Otto Warmbier, who was detained in North Korea for around 17 months. Warmbier, who was in a coma, was brought back to the US by Joseph Yun, who paid an unexpected visit to Pyongyang on June 12. Along with being the chief US envoy to the Six-Party Talks, Yun is the State Department’s Special Representative for North Korea Policy and the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Korea and Japan in the Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs.

It was later revealed that Yun made contact with officials from North Korea’s Foreign Ministry in the 1.5 track deliberations in Oslo, Norway, in May, and subsequently met with Pak Song-il, the Deputy Ambassador responsible for US affairs at North Korea's mission to the UN, in New York, to negotiate Warmbier’s release. But officials from the US State Department explain that during this process there was no discussion of issues other than Warmbier’s release, such as North Korea’s nuclear and missile programs.

In this manner, the 1.5 track has also been consistently used as a channel for dialogue between North Korea and the US. While South Korean and American officials have downplayed the North Korea-US 1.5 track contacts every time they have occurred, claiming that they are being organized by the private sector, it is recognized that that these contacts have played an important role for North Korea and the US.

On Oct. 1, Blue House spokesperson Park Soo-hyun addressed Tillerson’s remarks. “The South Korean and American governments hold to the principle that maximum sanctions and pressure are necessary to bring North Korea to the table for talks, and they are also deliberating closely on efforts to maintain lines of communication with North Korea. The position of the US government following Warmbier’s death is that quiet contact with the North is necessary to secure the release of detained Americans and to resolve other such humanitarian issues,” Park said.

By Kim Ji-eun, staff reporter

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