US reiterates position that inter-Korean projects should be discussed in S. Korea-US working group

Posted on : 2020-01-21 17:45 KST Modified on : 2020-01-21 17:56 KST
State Department spokesperson confirms Harris’ comments in VOA interview
South Korean Special Representative for Korean Peninsula Peace and Security Affairs Lee Do-hoon (left) and US Special Representative for North Korea Stephen Biegun during a working-group meeting in Seoul on May 10, 2019. (photo pool)
South Korean Special Representative for Korean Peninsula Peace and Security Affairs Lee Do-hoon (left) and US Special Representative for North Korea Stephen Biegun during a working-group meeting in Seoul on May 10, 2019. (photo pool)

The US State Department has stated once again that the inter-Korean cooperation projects promoted by the South Korean government need to be discussed in the South Korea-US working group.

“The United States supports inter-Korean cooperation and, as reiterated by ROK [South Korean] government officials, coordinates and consults through the US-ROK Working Group to ensure inter-Korean cooperation proceeds in lockstep with progress on denuclearization,” the Voice of America (VOA) quoted a State Department spokesperson as saying in a Jan. 19 report. VOA explained that the spokesperson was responding to a question about whether remarks made by US Ambassador to Seoul Harry Harris on Jan. 16 — that inter-Korean cooperation needed to be discussed in the South Korea-US working group “in order to avoid a misunderstanding later that could trigger sanctions” — were in keeping with guidance from the State Department.

The State Department spokesperson also noted Harris’ “efforts to [. . .] represent” US President Donald Trump and reconfirmed its “full confidence” in the ambassador. “No one, including and especially Ambassador Harris, questions the sovereignty of the ROK,” the spokesperson added.

Concrete deliberation between South Korea and the US is inevitable in order to move forward with inter-Korean cooperation projects, such as individual tourism to North Korea. For one thing, Seoul must eliminate the possibility that tourists might violate the UN and US sanctions through the items they bring into the country. While the US argues that those deliberations should be handled by the two countries’ working group, South Korean government officials tend to think the working group has seized upon the North Korean sanctions as an excuse for delaying inter-Korean cooperation. North Korea itself has expressed frustration with the working group. For that reason, the issue of working group deliberations could become a source of friction between Seoul, Pyongyang, and Washington.

The South Korea-US working group was set up in November 2018 with the goal of preventing clashes while making progress on North Korea’s denuclearization, improving inter-Korean relations, and implementing North Korean sanctions. Seoul has been represented in the working group by Lee Do-hoon, special representative for Korean Peninsula peace and security affairs, along with figures from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Blue House, the Ministry of National Defense, and the Ministry of Unification; their American counterparts have included US Deputy Secretary of State Stephen Biegun, who also serves as special representative for North Korea; Alex Wong, deputy assistant secretary of state for North Korea; and Mark Knapper, deputy assistant secretary for Korea and Japan.

By Hwang Joon-bum, Washington correspondent

Please direct comments or questions to [english@hani.co.kr]

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