Former US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger stressed solid cooperation between South Korea and the US for the denuclearization of North Korea in a luncheon held with Chung Mong-joon, honorary chairman of the Asan Institute for Policy Studies in New York on Thursday (local time), according to the organization on Friday.

During the meeting, the two exchanged views on the recent international situation and issues on the Korean Peninsula.

Kissinger said that South Korea and the US must deal with the North Korean nuclear problem through solid cooperation, according to a written statement by the institute. He also mentioned that the denuclearization of North Korea is necessary not only for Northeast Asia, but also for China.

In response, Chung asked Kissinger to maintain his focus on the security situation on the Korean Peninsula and Northeast Asia.

As an influential scholar in international relations, Kissinger served as national security adviser to President Nixon and as secretary of state during the Ford administration. The 99-year-old still gives lectures and writes books and articles based on his insight into the international situation.

Kissinger, who was a graduate student at Harvard University, visited Korea in 1950 during the Korean War, and analyzed the process of its outbreak. He submitted a memorandum titled “US Strategy” to presidential political adviser William Elliot and the State Department's Director of Policy Planning Paul Nitze. His report served as the basis for future countermeasures to communist provocations.