U.S. President Donald Trump with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in the demilitarized zone separating the two Koreas, in Panmunjom, South Korea, on June 30, 2019. KCNA via Reuters
South Korea backs U.S. President Donald Trump’s drive to revive talks with North Korea but wants to ensure that Seoul is not sidelined by Washington’s efforts, South Korea’s national security adviser said on Friday.
“As a party directly concerned with peace on the Korean Peninsula and as a pacemaker, we will support trust-building between North Korea and the United States and the resumption of dialogue so that President Trump’s efforts can lead to renewed US-North Korea talks,” Wi Sung-lac, the adviser, said in remarks reported by The Korea Herald.
He also stressed that Seoul would take a “multidimensional approach” to address any potential concerns that may arise if Pyongyang–Washington negotiations are rekindled.
Wi said a South Korean priority would be working with the Trump administration to enable progress to be made regarding North Korean leader Kim Jong-un’s nuclear program, as well as making efforts to establish peace on the peninsula.
He said that another key point for Seoul is “ensuring that our security posture is not weakened” as a result of the talks, and that South Korea is not “bypassed in the process.”
Related Stories
As a result of Trump’s order, the exercises ended six days earlier than scheduled, but Pyongyang said shortening the drill does not change its “provocative, aggressive nature.”
“The U.S. Marine Corps formally notified our forces in June that its ability to deploy forces during this year’s Ssangyong exercise would be constrained due to the situation in the Middle East,” Han Seung-jeon, a spokesman for the South Korean Marine Corps, said at a news briefing, Channel News Asia reported.
During the call, the pair agreed to continue “close coordination” on North Korea’s nuclear weapons issue and to cooperate on mutually beneficial outcomes related to tariffs and investment agreements, shipbuilding, and national security cooperation.
A U.S. Navy MH-60S Hawk helicopter (L) comes in to land as a C-2 Greyhound is prepared on the flight deck on the USS Nimitz, off the coast of Busan on March 27, 2023. Jeon Heon-Kyun/AFP via Getty Images
The South Korean military said that the Freedom Edge exercises will take place between Sept. 7 and Sept. 11 in the waters near South Korea’s southern Jeju Island. The exercises are designed to test the trio’s readiness against nuclear and missile weapons threats from North Korea, according to Seoul.
Pyongyang has previously criticized the trilateral drills, calling them a “reckless show of strength” that demonstrates a confrontational stance against North Korea.
