Reuteres, Vantaa :
Informal talks held in Finland between North Korean, South Korean and U.S. delegates ended on Wednesday, the Finnish foreign ministry said, describing the talks as constructive.
Some 18 delegates from the three countries, including Choe Kang Il, a deputy director general for North American affairs at North Korea’s foreign ministry, came to Finland earlier this week for a “track 2” conference amid a series of diplomatic encounters ahead of a possible U.S.-North Korean summit.
“This meeting was one of a series of academic sessions over many years that have explored approaches to building confidence and reducing tensions on the Korean Peninsula,” Director General Kimmo Lahdevirta from the Finnish foreign ministry told reporters in front of a government manor out of town in which the delegates had been secluded for two days.
“The participants had a constructive exchange of views in a positive atmosphere.”
He declined to comment on the agenda but said that observers from the United Nations and Europe were also present at the talks.
Finnish Foreign Minister Timo Soini said on Tuesday that North Korea denuclearization was not on the table.
Last weekend, North Korean and Swedish foreign ministers ended three days of talks in preparation for a potential meeting between U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.
North Korea is pursuing its nuclear and missile programs in defiance of U.N. Security Council sanctions and has made no secret of its plans to develop a missile capable of hitting the U.S. mainland.
Meanwhile, South Korean President Moon Jae-in said on Wednesday a three-way summit with North Korea and the United States is possible and that talks should aim for an end to the nuclear threat on the Korean peninsula.Moon is planning a meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un next month after a flurry of diplomatic activity in Asia, Europe and the United States. U.S. President Donald Trump has also said he would meet Kim by the end of May.
“A North Korea-U.S. summit would be a historic event in itself following an inter-Korean summit,” Moon said at the presidential Blue House in Seoul after a preparatory meeting for the inter-Korean summit.
“Depending on the location, it could be even more dramatic. And depending on progress, it may lead to a three-way summit between the South, North and the United States,” he said.
Seoul officials are considering the border truce village of Panmunjom, where Moon and Kim are set for a one-day meeting, as the venue for talks between not only Kim and Moon but also a possible three-way meeting.
A Blue House official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Moon did not specifically refer to Panmunjom or that a three-way summit had been discussed with Washington before the president spoke.
The rush of recent diplomatic contacts began in the lead-up to the Winter Olympics in South Korea last month and helped ease tensions on the Korean peninsula caused by North Korea’s pursuit of its nuclear and missile programs in defiance of United Nations Security Council sanctions.
South Korea wants to hold high-level talks with North Korea on March 29 to discuss a date and agenda for the inter-Korean summit and make a formal request to the North on Thursday, Moon’s presidential office said.
Informal talks held in Finland between North Korean, South Korean and U.S. delegates ended on Wednesday, the Finnish foreign ministry said, describing the talks as constructive.
Some 18 delegates from the three countries, including Choe Kang Il, a deputy director general for North American affairs at North Korea’s foreign ministry, came to Finland earlier this week for a “track 2” conference amid a series of diplomatic encounters ahead of a possible U.S.-North Korean summit.
“This meeting was one of a series of academic sessions over many years that have explored approaches to building confidence and reducing tensions on the Korean Peninsula,” Director General Kimmo Lahdevirta from the Finnish foreign ministry told reporters in front of a government manor out of town in which the delegates had been secluded for two days.
“The participants had a constructive exchange of views in a positive atmosphere.”
He declined to comment on the agenda but said that observers from the United Nations and Europe were also present at the talks.
Finnish Foreign Minister Timo Soini said on Tuesday that North Korea denuclearization was not on the table.
Last weekend, North Korean and Swedish foreign ministers ended three days of talks in preparation for a potential meeting between U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.
North Korea is pursuing its nuclear and missile programs in defiance of U.N. Security Council sanctions and has made no secret of its plans to develop a missile capable of hitting the U.S. mainland.
Meanwhile, South Korean President Moon Jae-in said on Wednesday a three-way summit with North Korea and the United States is possible and that talks should aim for an end to the nuclear threat on the Korean peninsula.Moon is planning a meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un next month after a flurry of diplomatic activity in Asia, Europe and the United States. U.S. President Donald Trump has also said he would meet Kim by the end of May.
“A North Korea-U.S. summit would be a historic event in itself following an inter-Korean summit,” Moon said at the presidential Blue House in Seoul after a preparatory meeting for the inter-Korean summit.
“Depending on the location, it could be even more dramatic. And depending on progress, it may lead to a three-way summit between the South, North and the United States,” he said.
Seoul officials are considering the border truce village of Panmunjom, where Moon and Kim are set for a one-day meeting, as the venue for talks between not only Kim and Moon but also a possible three-way meeting.
A Blue House official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Moon did not specifically refer to Panmunjom or that a three-way summit had been discussed with Washington before the president spoke.
The rush of recent diplomatic contacts began in the lead-up to the Winter Olympics in South Korea last month and helped ease tensions on the Korean peninsula caused by North Korea’s pursuit of its nuclear and missile programs in defiance of United Nations Security Council sanctions.
South Korea wants to hold high-level talks with North Korea on March 29 to discuss a date and agenda for the inter-Korean summit and make a formal request to the North on Thursday, Moon’s presidential office said.
