A foreign ministerial meeting between the Korean and U.S. governments was held in Seoul on the 9th.
Foreign Minister Park Jin and U.S. Secretary of State Tony Blinken met at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs building in Seoul this afternoon and engaged in a ROK-U.S. foreign ministerial meeting.
Attending the meeting were Kim Gun, head of the Korean Peninsula Peace Negotiation Headquarters, and others from the Korean side, and Ambassador to Korea Philip Goldberg and Assistant Secretary for East Asia and Pacific Affairs Daniel Crittenbrink from the U.S. side.
The meeting, which was held ‘privately’ immediately after Minister Park and Minister Blinken’s photo shoot, appears to have focused on discussions on recent trends in military cooperation, including illegal arms trade between Russia and North Korea.
Before departing for Seoul after attending the G7 foreign ministers’ meeting held in Tokyo, Japan the previous day, Secretary Blinken said, “I am deeply concerned about Russia providing weapons and ammunition from North Korea in exchange for supplies.”
South Korean and U.S. authorities are watching the possibility that Russia will provide related technologies, such as reconnaissance satellites and space launch vehicles, in return for receiving conventional weapons, such as artillery shells, needed for the war in Ukraine from North Korea. North Korea, which failed to launch a reconnaissance satellite twice in May and August, is expected to attempt a third launch as early as this month.
The UN Security Council’s resolution on sanctions against North Korea, which aims to halt North Korea’s nuclear and missile development, prohibits the launch of all North Korean ballistic missiles and aircraft using such technology. Since space launch vehicles for satellites also use ballistic missile technology, North Korea’s attempt to launch a satellite is in itself a violation of Security Council resolutions.
Arms trade between North Korea and other UN member states is also a violation of Security Council resolutions.
In relation to this, the foreign ministers of the United States and South Korea are expected to repeatedly condemn North Korea’s violations of Security Council resolutions at the meeting today and seek countermeasures accordingly. In particular, the United States is expected to reaffirm its commitment to ‘extended deterrence’ against our country in relation to North Korea’s nuclear and missile threats.
‘Extended deterrence’ refers to the policy of the United States providing deterrence to its allies by operating all categories of military capabilities, including nuclear, conventional, and missile defense capabilities.
It is expected that cooperation measures to improve the poor human rights situation of North Korean residents, including the recent issue of forced repatriation of North Korean defectors in China, were discussed at this meeting.
In addition, the two sides are said to have exchanged opinions on the 70th anniversary of this year on ways to develop their alliance, cooperation in economic security and high-tech fields, and the situation of the war between Russia and Ukraine and the war between Israel and Palestine.
In addition, as President Yoon Seok-yeol is scheduled to attend the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit to be held in San Francisco from the 11th to the 17th, it is possible that a plan to hold a meeting with U.S. President Joe Biden on this occasion was also discussed between Korea and the United States. .
Minister Park and Minister Blinken plan to disclose the results through a joint press conference following the meeting.
Secretary Blinken entered the country via Osan Air Force Base in Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi-do on a private plane the afternoon before, and left for India, the next country he visited, this afternoon. Secretary Blinken’s visit to Korea is the first since the launch of the Yoon Seok-yeol government in May last year.
Secretary Blinken also met with National Security Office Director Cho Tae-yong this morning and discussed North Korea-related issues.
Source: Donga
Mark Jones is a world traveler and journalist for News Rebeat. With a curious mind and a love of adventure, Mark brings a unique perspective to the latest global events and provides in-depth and thought-provoking coverage of the world at large.