US, South Korean special envoys explore reopening talks with North Korea at Seoul meeting

Wednesday, October 27, 2021 

On Sunday, United States and South Korean envoys met in Seoul, South Korea to discuss ways to send humanitarian aid to North Korea and reopen diplomatic talks with North Korea after the United Nations warned the country faces starvation due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Envoys also discussed a Southern proposal to formally end the Korean War, ongoing since the last Armistice Talks in July 1953.

Prior to the meeting, Sung Kim, US Special Envoy for North Korea told reporters after arriving in Seoul to meet South Korean nuclear envoy Noh Kyu-duk that he looked forward to "productive follow up discussions" after their meeting in Washington, D.C. last Tuesday. ​Their agenda for Sunday included the denuclearization of North Korea, declaring a formal end to the Korean War and sending humanitarian aid to North Korea as a way to reopen diplomatic talks.

After the meeting, Kim said the US calls "on the DPRK to cease… destabilizing activities, and instead, engage in dialogue." He reiterated the US "remain[s] ready to meet with the DPRK without preconditions", and had "made clear that the United States harbors no hostile intent towards the DPRK."

During a press conference Friday, United Nations Special Rapporteur on North Korea Tomas Ojea Quintana said the country may need humanitarian aid and called for easing sanctions against the North Korean textile and seafood sectors. He warned that continued border closures and limited trade might lead to starvation, and that the region is "veering towards an arms race".

During a US Department of State press briefing the same day, spokesperson Ned Price said "[UN] Security Council resolutions regarding the DPRK remain in effect" and "we are involved in efforts to facilitate the provision of humanitarian aid to the neediest" in North Korea.

Last Tuesday, North Korea tested a new type of submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM). In response, Kim called on the North to "refrain from further provocations and engage in sustained and substantive dialogue". The North's responded the US was "overreacting". South Korea launched a new SLBM on September 15, while North Korea launched a hypersonic missile, in early stages of development, on September 28.

Sources[edit]

• "US urges N Korea to end ‘provocative’ tests, return to talks" — Al Jazeera, October 24, 2021
• Arirang News. "U.S. special envoy Sung Kim arrives in S. Korea for talks on N. Korea issues" — YouTube, October 23, 2021
• "US nuclear envoy Sung Kim visits South Korea amid North Korea missile tension" — The Straits Times, October 23, 2021
• Ned Price. "Department Press Briefing" — Department of State, October 22, 2021
• Arirang News. "UN Special Rapporteur urges UN sanctions on N. Korea be eased during pandemic" — YouTube, October 22, 2021
• Pyongyang Broadcast Service - D.P.R of Korea. "DPRK Test New Submarine Ballistic Missile" — YouTube, October 20, 2021
• "Hypersonic Missile Newly Developed by Academy of Defence Science Test-fired" — Rodong Sinmun, September 29, 2021
• Hyonhee Shin. "S.Korea says it successfully tests submarine-launched ballistic missile" — Reuters, September 15, 2021