SEOUL, Nov. 20 (UPI) — The United States and South Korea have launched a joint working group to coordinate issues that emerge in negotiations for denuclearization of North Korea‘s nuclear weapons and in the process for improving inter-Korean relations.
The working group, led by U.S. special representative to North Korea Stephen Biegun and Lee Do-hoon, South Korea’s special representative for Korean Peninsula peace and security affairs, will hold its first meeting Tuesday in Washington D.C.
Officials in charge of North Korea-related issues will participate in the meeting to discuss issues that rise amid diplomatic efforts to achieve North Korea’s denuclearization.
“The working group systemizes discussions that have been continuing so far by the two sides and extend its scope beyond the level of the foreign ministry,” Lee was quoted as saying in a Yonhap News report.
The U.S. State Department said Biegun and Lee will meet in Washington and discuss ways to achieve the “shared goal of final, fully verified denuclearization” of North Korea’s nuclear weapons.
“Special Representative Biegun and Special Representative Lee will discuss ongoing diplomatic efforts, sustained implementation of UN sanctions, and inter-Korean cooperation,” it said in a statement.
