Both sides agree to establish year-round performance review mechanism

First Vice Foreign Minister Park Yun-ju and US Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs Allison Hooker pose for a photo before the inaugural meeting to discuss follow-up measures on the security provisions of the South Korea-US summit Joint Fact Sheet, held at the Foreign Ministry annex of the Government Seoul Building in Jongno-gu, Seoul, on June 2. [Ministry of Foreign Affairs]
First Vice Foreign Minister Park Yun-ju and US Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs Allison Hooker pose for a photo before the inaugural meeting to discuss follow-up measures on the security provisions of the South Korea-US summit Joint Fact Sheet, held at the Foreign Ministry annex of the Government Seoul Building in Jongno-gu, Seoul, on June 2. [Ministry of Foreign Affairs]

South Korea and the United States concluded their first working-level consultations Wednesday on implementing the Joint Fact Sheet (JFS) agreed upon at their recent summit.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs said the two countries held meetings from Tuesday through Wednesday to launch follow-up consultations on nuclear cooperation, including nuclear-powered submarines and uranium enrichment and reprocessing.

The sessions opened Tuesday with an inaugural plenary co-chaired by First Vice Foreign Minister Park Yun-ju and US Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs Allison Hooker. Pan-government delegations from both sides then held detailed, sector-by-sector discussions led by the South Korean presidential office's National Security Council and the US National Security Council.

The South Korean delegation included representatives from the National Security Council, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Science and ICT, the Ministry of National Defense, the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, the Ministry of Climate, Environment and Energy, and the Nuclear Safety and Security Commission.

The US side included officials from the NSC, the Department of State, the Department of Energy, and the US Embassy in Seoul.

First Vice Foreign Minister Park Yun-ju and US Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs Allison Hooker attend the inaugural meeting to discuss follow-up measures on the security provisions of the South Korea-US summit Joint Fact Sheet, held at the Foreign Ministry annex of the Government Seoul Building in Jongno-gu, Seoul, on June 2. [Ministry of Foreign Affairs]
First Vice Foreign Minister Park Yun-ju and US Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs Allison Hooker attend the inaugural meeting to discuss follow-up measures on the security provisions of the South Korea-US summit Joint Fact Sheet, held at the Foreign Ministry annex of the Government Seoul Building in Jongno-gu, Seoul, on June 2. [Ministry of Foreign Affairs]

The two sides agreed to work together to produce substantive results as quickly as possible, according to officials. They also agreed to establish a mechanism to review progress throughout the year and to accelerate future consultations.

The two sides particularly stressed the need to move swiftly on implementing the summit-level commitments in the fact sheet, and discussed a timeline with a general sense of direction, an official said.

The meetings are to be held on a regular basis. South Korea and the United States plan to meet again as early as next month in Washington for a second round of talks.


moone@heraldcorp.com