Unification Minister Kim Yeon-chul. Korea Times file
Unification Minister Kim Yeon-chul called Wednesday for a third summit between U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, stressing the importance of working-level talks to ensure a new meeting will lead to substantial denuclearization steps.
"Now is the time for all-out efforts to make sure that a third summit between North Korea and the United States will lead to a practical denuclearization and peace process," the minister said in a keynote speech at a security form hosted by his ministry.
Referring to a series of summits between regional players scheduled to kick off later this week, the minister said, "The most important goal of all of these summits is to create an environment for a successful North Korea-U.S. summit."
Chinese President Xi Jinping is planned to visit North Korea on Wednesday and Thursday ahead of his meeting with Trump on the sidelines of a Group of 20 summit in Japan's Osaka next week. Trump will also visit Seoul at the end of the month for talks with President Moon Jae-in.