Seoul, Dec 17 South Korea and the United States share the understanding that their latest talks on North Korea policy are not the same as a now-defunct dialogue channel under the former Moon Jae-in government, a foreign ministry official said Wednesday.
The official made the remarks after the unification ministry handling inter-Korean affairs decided not to join Tuesday's dialogue between the foreign ministry and relevant US agencies, saying the talks could hinder Seoul's peace efforts toward Pyongyang, Yonhap News Agency reported.
The rift between the two ministries has emerged after several former unification ministers issued a statement claiming that the talks with the US mirror the "working group" channel that operated in 2017-19 and that it would only serve as a stumbling block in efforts to improve inter-Korean relations.
The working group was launched with an aim to coordinate on matters related to the sanctions in place against Pyongyang in order to expedite the process for inter-Korean exchanges and other cooperation.
But it gradually came to be seen as an obstacle in the eyes of those who prioritized engagement with the North, being labeled by them as a channel for US "screening" of what items can reach the North or not.
"There is a clear, shared understanding on both the South Korean and US sides that this meeting, which is aimed at implementing the joint fact sheet, is fundamentally different from the past working group in terms of its purpose, nature and background," the official told reporters.
"We understand that there is some painful criticism," the official said of the statement by the former ministers. "We should take them seriously and respond in a way that avoids misunderstanding and criticism."
The foreign ministry has named Tuesday's meeting as "follow-up talks on the joint fact sheet," apparently pointing out that the discussions are focused on implementing the summit agreements reached between the allies regarding North Korea issues.
The official said the latest talks took place to exchange general positions of the two sides on the current geopolitical environment surrounding the Korean Peninsula.
"It provided an opportunity for us to closely exchange views on how to open the door to dialogue at a time when talks have stalled and the international landscape has become more challenging than in the past," he said.
"We shared the view that it is urgent to bring North Korea back to dialogue and ease the current grave situation ... We explained our concept of denuclearization and approach to advancing that," the official said.
Asked about the unification ministry's comment that it could hold separate talks with the US on North Korea issues, the official said the ministry "is free to provide any explanations it considers necessary to the US side."
"The unification ministry remains one of the ministries with which we work and communicate very closely," he added.
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