President Moon Jae-in met with U.S. Special Representative for North Korea Stephen Biegun at Cheong Wa Dae this afternoon. President Moon asked the Special Representative to take good advantage of the yet-again emerging opportunity for North Korea-U.S. talks, which was prompted by the recent visit to the North by South Korean special envoys, and achieve a successful conclusion to denuclearization talks.
President Moon underscored the facts that the goals of South Korea and the United States to completely denuclearize the Korean Peninsula are in entire agreement, that the United States and North Korea need to hold a dialogue in a bold manner to overcome their hostile ties and distrust of the past 70 years and that the Korean Government will take on every possible role in the process of denuclearization. The President urged Special Representative Biegun to play a constructive role in the future denuclearization talks and in the establishment of a permanent peace regime.
President Moon went on to say that South Korea and the United States should continue to closely work together so that improvement in inter-Korean relations, including the opening of a South-North joint liaison office, and denuclearization talks between North Korea and the United States facilitate each other, creating a virtuous cycle.
Special Representative Biegun said he felt a sense of great responsibility in taking on an important mission and expressed his gratitude for the Korean Government’s hospitality and various diplomatic efforts so far. He wished for the success of the inter-Korean summit in Pyeongyang next week and said he would do his best to help denuclearize the Korean Peninsula and make progress in peace settlement.