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South Korean Special Representative for Korean Peninsula Peace and Security Affairs Noh Kyu-duk and US Special Representative for North Korea Sung Kim hold a joint press conference on Thursday following a bilateral talk between the two senior representatives on the North Korean nuclear issue. (provided by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs)

The South Korean and US senior representatives on the North Korean nuclear issue made plans Thursday to communicate closely on South Korean President Moon Jae-in’s recent proposal before the UN General Assembly for a declaration officially ending the Korean War.

They also reaffirmed that all subjects will be open for discussion once dialogue is resumed with Pyongyang.

The statement came in a joint press conference by South Korean Special Representative for Korean Peninsula Peace and Security Affairs Noh Kyu-duk and US Special Representative for North Korea Sung Kim following their discussions Thursday in Jakarta, Indonesia.

In discussions that day, the two representatives reportedly shared their assessments of the recent political developments surrounding the Korean Peninsula, including a Supreme People’s Assembly policy speech by North Korean leader Kim Jong-un; recent statements by Workers’ Party of Korea Central Committee Vice Director Kim Yo-jong; and the North’s recent test of a hypersonic missile.

While the matter of an end-of-war declaration had been the biggest focus of attention, Kim said only that Noh had “briefed me in detail on the ROK government's initiative to declare an end to the Korean War, and we agreed to continue our close communication on the initiative.”

The two envoys have previously shared their views on an end-of-war declaration as a potential meaningful trust-building measure in response to denuclearization measures by North Korea.

To date, the US has neither dismissed nor actively endorsed such a declaration, saying only that it intended to wait and see the response from Pyongyang.

Analysts noted Washington’s continued cautious attitude toward an end-of-war declaration as seen in Sung Kim’s use of only generalities, even after Kim Yo-jong expressed a positive response — albeit a conditional one — in her statement on Sept. 24.

But Sung Kim also reiterated a message consistently expressed by the Joe Biden administration, saying he wanted “to make clear again that the United States harbors no hostile intent toward the DPRK” — an abbreviated form of North Korea’s official name.

Another notable remark by Kim was his message that the US remains “open to engagement with the DPRK to discuss the full range of bilateral and regional issues.”

This was fleshed out further in remarks by Noh, who said the two sides had “reaffirmed our shared position that the full range of topics can be discussed once dialogue resumes with North Korea, including North Korea’s areas of interest.”

This reference to Seoul and Washington’s openness to the agenda including areas of interest to the North in addition to denuclearization could be read as suggesting that issues related to sanctions against the North could also be discussed.

Recently, South Korean Minister of Foreign Affairs Chung Eui-yong stressed the need to consider a “snapback” approach to easing North Korea sanctions — referring to a system in which the sanctions are automatically reinstated in the event that an agreement is breached.

The latest remarks suggest the US responded more or less favorably to the South Korean government’s gesture in mentioning this as a potential incentive with Pyongyang. Analysts read them as signaling that while the US is not going to bring up the matter of North Korea sanction relief on its own, it would be willing to discuss it if the North agrees to dialogue.

One difference in Kim’s remarks compared with past situations following South Korea-US discussions was that he did not mention the US’ willingness to meet unconditionally for dialogue with North Korea at any time and place.

Even as he asserted the US’ openness to engagement with North Korea and reaffirmed its intent to provide humanitarian assistance to the most vulnerable North Koreans, he did not actively call on Pyongyang to take part in dialogue.

Kim also expressed serious concerns about North Korea’s recent ballistic missile announcement, stressing that the test launch violated multiple UN Security Council resolutions and posed a threat to neighboring countries and the international community.

His remarks may have been a reflection of North Korea’s recent series of military actions and its characterization of the US messages calling for unconditional dialogue as a ruse to obscure its hostile intent or a continuation of its hostile policies.

Noh expressed his “hope that North Korea will also respond favorably to the joint South Korean and US efforts to resume dialogue.”

Ahead of their bilateral discussions, the two representatives also had a roughly 15-minute trilateral discussion by telephone with their Japanese counterpart, Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs Director-General for Asian and Oceanian Affairs Bureau Takehiro Funakoshi, in which they agreed to maintain close coordination.

By Kim Ji-eun, staff reporter

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