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In an interview with Reuters, Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha addressed the upcoming second US-North Korea summit and continuing talks on complete denuclearization and building lasting peace on the Korean Peninsula.

[Reuters Interview with Minister Kang]

[Minister]

I think we always have to be hopeful. I'm hopeful.

We don't have much time, but I think we all know that the first summit was historic, but led to a very broad agreement on what the United States and North Korea will work towards, one of which is North Korea's complete denuclearization, second is better relations between the two sides, and both sides working together to build lasting peace on the Korean Peninsula, and the overall chapeau of the US willingness to provide security guarantees to North Korea. 
 

So, the goalposts are set. Now the concrete steps towards these goalposts, they have to move in sync, you can't move in one direction and leave the other aside. So that's the challenge. But I think given the strong political will on the part of the top leaders of the two sides, the strong will on the part of my President, to facilitate this and to assist this in however we can, I think we will seek concrete results. I think that we know, they know the world demands concrete results. 

[Reuters]

Do we have any more of a specific date on when this meeting is going to be?
 
[Minister]

I'll let the United States and North Korea announce that. It's for them to decide.

[Reuters]

But it has been decided?

[Minister]

I think there is a broad agreement. I think it still awaits officialization, and but it could be announced very soon.

[Reuters]

In terms of corresponding steps from the US, which of course is such a critical part of this, what do we need to see from the US? What sort of substantial steps from the US will be enough to send the right message to North Korea?

[Minister]

Well, there's a whole package of things, and we've been in close consultation with the United States at all levels, to see what these steps could be, to address North Korea's need.

Obviously, a big part of that would be security guarantees to North Korea. And that, only the United States can give North Korea, because North Korea says that they have built their nuclear and missiles program because of American hostility.

You know, I think we certainly think that the end of war declaration, which would be a political declaration to signal to the world that we have definitely left behind hostilities and we are moving towards complete denuclearization as well as building lasting peace on the Korean Peninsula with good will. I think that we’ve been promoting this since the Panmunjom summit last year. Our goal was to have it by the end of the year, we didn't get it, but it's still a very legitimate element on the table for the US and us and North Korea.

[Reuters]

Onto economic cooperation between the North and the South. Clearly, there is keenness on, from both sides. What needs to happen for you to resume the projects that we know of?   

[Minister]

I think you're talking about the Kaesong Industrial Complex project and the Kumgangsan tourism project. There is a great desire on the part of the South Korean businesses who had been a part of that project. There is a great desire of the South Korean public wanting to go and visit Kumgang Mountain. Our fundamental, basic approach on this is we do everything while adhering to and respecting the global sanctions regime.

Now, there are things we can do within that regime. Big, economic projects with North Korea are not. Because that can only happen when the circumstances change with the sanctions. So, at this point, my government is not reviewing the resumption. That will happen when North Korea makes concrete steps toward, we are assured that they are indeed moving toward the complete denuclearization, and, that leading to a different sanction situation.

[Reuters]

Has the South slipped on sanctions? There are suggestions that the South has being a little selective, perhaps a little inconsistent when it comes to the sanctions. Is there any truth to that?

[Minister]

Not at all. Not at all. Not at all.
 

I think we, probably because geographically we're right there, next to North Korea, where things move in and out, I think we have a location that's probably best to monitor and understand what's going on across the borders whether it's with the shipments or... so I think of all governments, I think we have been most active and making sure that the sanctions regime is faithfully implemented. Obviously, there are glitches, there may be some oversights, but overall, I have to say we have been very, very faithfully implemented and working very closely with the Sanctions Committee, and also the United States.

[Reuters]

Let me finish up, Minister, if I may, with Korea-Japan bilateral relations. Have you met the Japanese Foreign Minister here at Davos?

[Minister]

Yes, we had a good meeting yesterday.

[Reuters]

You had a good meeting, a productive meeting?

[Minister]

It was productive, yes, I would say.

[Reuters]

Relations, I think it’s fair to say, have soured pretty dramatically. Are you in the process of mending those relations?
 
[Minister]

We are close neighbors with a very difficult history. And I think history has cast a long shadow over these relations, and these issues arise.

But there is a fundamental sense of a lack of justice on the part of victims, and this manifests itself. We have to manage that. As we manage the past in a way that addresses the concerns of victims, we also have to move along these many other tracks of our collaboration on the North Korean nuclear issue, security collaboration in close consultation with the United States is critical, economic collaborations… There are so many things that need to be moved forward in the bilateral relations. We take a two-track approach, therefore.