1. Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha met with United States Special Representative for North Korea Stephen Biegun on October 29. In the meeting, the two sides shared with each other recent developments in the situation on the Korean Peninsula, including follow-up negotiations between the United States and the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea and advances in inter-Korean relations; and discussed ways to achieve a complete denuclearization and build a lasting peace.

° Minister Kang stressed that the momentum of dialogue bolstered by the 2018 Inter-Korean Summit Pyeongyang and the latest visit to the DPRK by US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo should lead to tangible progress toward denuclearization and the establishment of an enduring peace. She went on to suggest that the ROK and the US, on the back of their close coordination, continue to fine-tune special ways to that end.

° Special Representative Biegun, sharing the Minister’s view, noted that consultations and fine-tuning work conducted by the ROK and the US at various levels were highly important for US-DPRK negotiations; and that more efforts would be made to step up already-watertight communication and cooperation between the ROK and the US in the course of seeking progress toward denuclearization and in inter-Korean relations.

2. Minister Kang noted with appreciation that since the inauguration of Special Representative Biegun, the ROK-US consultations on denuclearization and peace regime had been bolstering, expressing hope that his consultations with major ROK officials during his visit to the country would help to beef up cooperation between the two countries. Special Representative Biegun, extending appreciation to the Minister over her remarks, stated that he would do his best.

* unofficial translation