Cho Hyeon "US takes a stance of 'I hope that South Korea does not go too far ahead regarding North Korea-US dialogue'" (comprehensive)

(Seoul = Yonhap News) Reporter Kim Ji-heon = Minister of Foreign Affairs Cho Hyun announced on the 27th that the United States gave its opinion to the effect that South Korea and the United States should pace themselves in relation to creating an atmosphere for dialogue between North Korea and the United States.

When asked by Rep. Park Seong-joon of the Democratic Party of Korea about the status of discussions on North Korea-US dialogue with the United States during the comprehensive audit of the National Assembly's Foreign Affairs and Unification Committee on this day, Minister Cho said, "This was one of the important issues when I discussed with Secretary of State Marco Rubio about a month ago."

He continued, "However, the United States' position so far is 'I understand, we are communicating a little more closely, but I hope Korea does not go too far ahead.'"

Minister Cho emphasized, “The opinion that ‘it would be better if we don’t go ahead’ was a reference to our self-appointed role as a pacemaker,” and added, “It is not that (the United States) is opposed to us taking any initiative.”

He said, "The U.S. side is also grateful to us for sharing various information and scenarios we have," and added, "We have carefully analyzed what happened during the Singapore and Hanoi summits and figured out what was lacking at the time, and we have also created scenarios."

Minister Cho believed that there was a possibility of discussions regarding North Korea-US dialogue between China and North Korea in relation to North Korea's State Affairs Chairman Kim Jong-un's visit to Dandong, China on the 24th.

When People Power Party lawmaker Kwon Young-se asked what he thought of the possibility, citing the fact that Ma Zhaoxu, Vice Minister of Commerce of China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, also appeared in Dandong, Minister Cho said, "I think it is possible."

Vice Minister Ma Zhaoxu is the person in charge of negotiations with the United States in China and is classified as an 'American expert.'

Minister Cho noted that China did not provide advance notice of Chairman Kim's visit to Dandong, and added, "It is still difficult to make a conclusion" about the possibility of discussing North Korea-US dialogue, adding, "I think we will have to consider various factors together."

When Democratic Party lawmaker Maeng Seong-gyu asked about a strategy to bring North Korea back into dialogue, he said, "I think holding a North Korea-US summit will be a catalyst to overcome the current situation."

He added, "Based on that, my strategy is to faithfully fulfill our role as a pacemaker so that the United States can establish itself as a peacemaker. To this end, it is important to bring North Korea to the table while coordinating closely in advance with relevant countries such as China and Russia."

In response to Rep. Kwon's point that sanctions against North Korea could be weakened with the opening of the New Yalu Bridge, Minister Cho said, "There have been concerns about sanctions not being implemented in practice even before then," and added, "China has tried not to undermine the major principles of sanctions against North Korea."

He analyzed, "However, as North Korea and Russia become closer, China is also under pressure and appears to be trying to provide more support to North Korea in any form."