South Korea, US hold Joint Fact Sheet security working-level talks Monday and Tuesday

"Korea-US alliance is linchpin of Indo-Pacific peace"

National Security Adviser Wi Sung-lac [Yonhap]
National Security Adviser Wi Sung-lac [Yonhap]

National Security Adviser Wi Sung-lac met with US Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs Allison Hooker on Monday to discuss South Korea-US security consultations, Cheong Wa Dae said.

The two sides met in the morning and agreed they welcomed the opening of follow-up security consultations under the Korea-US Joint Fact Sheet (JFS), Cheong Wa Dae said. Both sides expressed hope that the two-day talks — running Monday and Tuesday — would be productive and further accelerate related discussions.

Cheong Wa Dae added that the two sides "reaffirmed that the Korea-US alliance is the linchpin of peace and prosperity on the Korean Peninsula and in the Indo-Pacific region" and agreed to maintain close communication and cooperation on the Korean Peninsula situation as well as international developments, including the situation in the Middle East.

Earlier Monday, South Korea and the United States held the first day of JFS security follow-up consultations at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. First Vice Foreign Minister Park Yun-ju and Under Secretary Hooker presided over a session to formally launch the consultations. The two sides' pan-government delegations — led by the National Security Office at Cheong Wa Dae and the White House National Security Council — then held working-level discussions on specific details, the ministry said.

"As the consultations continue through Tuesday, we expect there will be an appropriate opportunity to brief on the results after they conclude," the ministry said. At the launch session, both sides reaffirmed the importance of the JFS — agreed upon by the two countries' leaders at last October's summit talks — to the bilateral relationship, and shared the view that faithful implementation was necessary.


moone@heraldcorp.com