The foreign ministers of South Korea and China met in New York on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly and agreed to continue their cooperation for denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said Thursday.

In the 30-minute talks, Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha and her Chinese counterpart Wang Yi exchanged views on the current situation, including North Korea’s nuclear program.

“The two sides agreed that it is imperative to make substantive progress in denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula and the establishment of permanent peace through the swift resumption of US-North Korea working-level talks,” the ministry said in a press release.

The US and North Korea are expected to resume working-level talks in early October on abandoning Pyongyang’s nuclear weapons.

Wang shared the results of his early-September trip to North Korea, where he met with his counterpart Ri Yong-ho and Ri Su-yong, vice chairman of the ruling Workers’ Party of Korea’s Central Committee.

Speculation is rising that the North Korean leader may visit China in the coming weeks to mark the 70th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries, which falls Oct. 6. There is also speculation that Kim might attend the ceremony and military parade for China’s National Day on Oct. 1.

Ahead of the Seoul-Beijing meeting, Kang held talks with David Beasley, chief of the World Food Program, about joint efforts to improve food security for countries in need, including North Korea.

They exchanged views on humanitarian support for North Korea, after a recent WFP report found that about 40 percent of the population is in urgent need of food.

Meanwhile, Seoul’s top nuclear envoy, Lee Do-hoon, who is also visiting New York, met David Stilwell, assistant US secretary of state for East Asian and Pacific affairs, and US Special Representative for North Korea Stephen Biegun to discuss ways to cooperate to resolve issues concerning North Korea’s nuclear weapons program.



By Park Han-na (hnpark@heraldcorp.com)