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| South Korea's chief nuclear envoy Noh Kyu-duk speaks to the press at Incheon International Airport before leaving for Jakarta, Indonesia, Wednesday. Yonhap |
South Korea's chief nuclear negotiator, Noh Kyu-duk, held video talks with his Chinese counterpart Wednesday and discussed North Korea's latest missile launch and recent statements, the foreign ministry said.
Noh's talks with Liu Xiaoming, Beijing's special representative on Korean Peninsula affairs, came a day after the North test-fired a hypersonic missile into the East Sea.
The firing came only days after Pyongyang expressed a willingness to improve inter-Korean relations and even discuss a summit with Seoul, on the condition the South drops its double-standard and hostile attitudes against the regime.
During the talks, Noh "asked for China's constructive role in efforts to bring Pyongyang back to dialogue, as he underscored the need for the stable management of the peninsula situation and a swift resumption of the talks," the ministry said in a release.
Liu reaffirmed Beijing's willingness to cooperate to advance the peace process for the Korean Peninsula, according to the ministry.
The two also agreed to meet in person at an early date to continue the discussions.
On Tuesday, Noh also spoke by phone with his U.S. counterpart, Sung Kim, and discussed the North's missile launch. Noh departed for Indonesia later in the day for talks with Kim, slated for Thursday.
"We will put our heads together for in-depth discussions on how to break through the current situation based on the evaluations we have shared on the series of the statements by North Korea and its missile launch," Noh told reporters at the airport before leaving for Jakarta, where Kim doubles as the U.S. ambassador to the country.
Noh also noted that he will discuss with Kim the end-of-war declaration, proposed by President Moon Jae-in at last week's U.N. General Assembly, as a way to bring North Korea back to the negotiating table.
"I believe it's the most effective among the confidence-building measures, as we have discussed with the U.S. various measures, such as the humanitarian cooperation, and so I plan to discuss that as well," Noh added. (Yonhap)
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