S. Korea, U.S. agree to consider ending 'working group' forum on N. Korea policy

Seoul (South Korea), June 22: South Korea and the United States have agreed to consider terminating their "working group" forum on North Korea policy, the foreign ministry said Tuesday, in what appears to be a conciliatory gesture to Pyongyang that has decried the forum as a hurdle to inter-Korean ties.
Seoul's top nuclear envoy, Noh Kyu-duk, and his U.S. counterpart, Sung Kim, reached the agreement during their talks in Seoul on Monday, as they sought a coordinated strategy to resume nuclear diplomacy with Pyongyang.
"During the talks between the top nuclear envoys, the two sides checked the operation of the existing working group and agreed to consider terminating it," the ministry said in a text message sent to reporters.
The ministry said that the two sides agreed to strengthen their director-general level consultations in addition to dialogue between their chief nuclear negotiators.
The consideration of an end to the forum loathed by the North comes as Seoul and Washington seek to create fresh momentum for the resumption of dialogue with the North.
The top U.S. nuclear envoy said Monday that the administration of U.S. President Joe Biden has offered to meet with the North "anytime anywhere without preconditions" and looks forward to a positive response from Pyongyang.
Seoul and Washington set up the working group in November 2018 to coordinate their approaches on the North's denuclearization, humanitarian aid, sanctions enforcement and inter-Korean relations.
The launch of the forum was based on shared understanding that any discord on their approach to the North could hamper engagement with Pyongyang. It has since dealt with the provision of Tamiflu and other forms of aid to the North, and approval of visits to the North by businesspeople to a now-shuttered joint industrial complex.
But the North has lambasted the dialogue platform as an impediment to what could have been speedy inter-Korean exchanges. Last year, Kim Yo-jong, the powerful sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, criticized the forum as the "noose of the pro-U.S. flunkeyism."
Criticism also came from within South Korea's ruling Democratic Party.
Last month, Lee Nak-yon, former party chief, voiced hope for a reassessment of the forum, claiming that its "intervention" has hampered inter-Korean cooperation. Unification Minister Lee In-young has also talked of the need for "readjustments" in the working group's operations.
But Seoul's foreign ministry had stressed the positive functions of the forum, including close consultations on wide-ranging issues, such as sanctions exemptions to foster cross-border engagement.
Source: Yonhap