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| Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Kim Gunn comes in through the arrival gate at Washington Dulles International Airport in Virginia, Thursday (eastern time). / Yonhap |
By Jhoo Dong-chan
South Korea's Ministry of Foreign Affairs is trying its utmost to find its role amid the stalled peace talks with North Korea.
Deputy Foreign Minister Kim Gunn, who took office last month, is visiting Washington, D.C., to discuss the matter with his U.S. counterpart, and other senior ministry officials are reviewing their plan to visit the country to facilitate resuming the stalled U.S.-North Korea denuclearization negotiations.
"We need to work hard on strategic communication between South Korea and the United States from the start of the year," Kim said at Washington Dulles International Airport regarding the purpose of his trip.
"I just took office, so I want to meet with my counterpart, talk about overall bilateral relations and prepare for some high-level discussions planned for the start of the year."
He declined to comment in detail on the stalled denuclearization talks and Seoul's negotiation on renewing a cost-sharing deal for the upkeep of U.S. troops in South Korea, but is expected to discuss a possible meeting later this month between South Korean Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha and her U.S. counterpart Mike Pompeo in San Francisco.
Lee Do-hoon, special representative for the Korean Peninsula peace and security affairs, told the Korea Times that he will also visit Washington this month to discuss possible options to get North Korea back to negotiations.
"North Korea also needs dialogue as much as the U.S. does," Lee said. "It's essential for us to lead Pyongyang back to the table once again."
A series of high-ranking foreign ministry officials' visit to the U.S. displays a widespread sense of crisis among diplomatic circles, as Seoul is experiencing difficulties finding its presence in the peace talks between Washington and Pyongyang.
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un said, Wednesday, after the four-day meeting of the Central Committee of the ruling Workers' Party that Pyongyang is planning to unveil what he called a "new strategic weapon" in the near future unless the U.S. comes up with a breakthrough in the negotiations.
His statement was considered to replace this year's New Year address, which he has delivered annually since 2013. Notably, he never mentioned South Korea at all.
"It's clear to me that the North won't give up its nuclear status anytime soon," University of North Korean Studies professor Yang Moo-jin said. "The government should seek a way to apply leverage to influence Pyongyang."
