Unification minister calls for fresh start in dialogue with N. Korea during meeting with ex-U.S. envoy
SEOUL, Sept. 21 (Yonhap) -- Unification Minister Chung Dong-young said Monday that it is time to "turn the clock forward" on the Korean Peninsula for peace, calling for renewed efforts to revive dialogue with North Korea.
Chung made the remarks during a meeting in Seoul with Stephen Biegun, who served as U.S. deputy secretary of state and special representative for North Korea during the first Donald Trump administration.
"Over the past seven years, North Korea's nuclear capabilities have advanced, while the historic Singapore agreement between the United States and North Korea has regressed, and inter-Korean relations have been completely severed by hostility and confrontation," Chung said.
"Now, I believe it is time to turn the clock forward again," he said, adding that political decisions by Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un could help move the process forward.
Trump has expressed interest in reengaging with the North Korean leader this year, fueling speculation that he could revive the personal diplomacy that led to three meetings with Kim during his first term.
The first meeting between Trump and Kim took place in Singapore in June 2018, followed by a second in Hanoi in February 2019 and a third at the inter-Korean border village of Panmunjom in June 2019.
Calling himself an optimist, Chung expressed hope for "a decisive opportunity for a new beginning on the Korean Peninsula" this fall.
Biegun, who is visiting South Korea in a private capacity, said Trump has "many very experienced advisers around him" and "excellent" U.S. ambassador to South Korea, Michelle Steel. He also expressed his expectation of further discussions with Chung during his stay in Seoul.
In a keynote speech at a conference in the western city of Incheon last week, Biegun said Trump could propose a meeting with Kim after the APEC summit in China in November, potentially in Pyongyang.
He also stressed that South Korea should play a central role in any renewed diplomatic efforts, saying Seoul has the greatest stake in the outcome and should not be sidelined in future negotiations.
Biegun played a leading role in working-level negotiations surrounding the summits between Trump and Kim, and led the U.S. delegation at the last working-level talks between the two nations, which were held in Stockholm in October 2019.
U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un head for the negotiating table during their historic summit at the Capella Hotel in Singapore on June 12, 2018, in this file photo captured from the website of The Strait Times. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap)
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