National security adviser holds background briefing at Chunchugwan

'Korea-US policy coordination more important than ever'

'Regular dialogue channel with China's Wang Yi to be maintained'

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

National Security Adviser Wi Sung-lac said Friday that ensuring South Korea is not sidelined as the United States works to restart talks with North Korea is among his top priorities, warning against any loosening of the country's security posture in the process.

The remarks signal that Seoul intends to guard against being excluded from the negotiating process or allowing a security vacuum on the Korean Peninsula, even if North Korea-US dialogue resumes.

Speaking at a background briefing for reporters at Chunchugwan inside Cheong Wa Dae, Wi said South Korea would support efforts to rebuild trust between Washington and Pyongyang and help bring about a resumption of dialogue. "As a direct stakeholder and pacemaker for peace on the Korean Peninsula, we will support President Donald Trump's efforts to restart North Korea-US talks," he said.

Wi added that Seoul would pursue a multidimensional approach to address potential pitfalls along the way. "At the same time, we intend to take a multidimensional approach that appropriately prepares for the points we need to be mindful of in this process," he said, adding that Seoul would coordinate with Washington to ensure any resumption of talks leads to genuine progress on North Korea's nuclear program alongside the establishment of a peace regime on the peninsula.

He said strong Korea-US communication would be essential to achieving those goals. "Policy coordination and communication between South Korea and the United States are more important than ever to carry out this work smoothly," he said.

On the range of bilateral issues between Seoul and Washington, Wi said the government was working to manage them in a way that strengthens the overall alliance. "There are currently various issues between South Korea and the United States — investment, Coupang Inc, security cooperation, intelligence cooperation, the transfer of wartime operational control and others — and the government is making efforts to coordinate these issues well and reinforce the framework of Korea-US cooperation," he said.

He also noted that Seoul has been maintaining close communication with Washington at multiple levels, including a foreign ministers' phone call on Monday.

Meanwhile, Wi also addressed his meeting with Wang Yi, a member of the Political Bureau of the Chinese Communist Party's Central Committee and China's foreign minister, on Aug. 20.

"This meeting is significant in that it reopens, after roughly five years, the dialogue channel between South Korea's national security adviser and the director of China's Office of the Central Foreign Affairs Commission, which had been suspended since December 2021," he said.

He added that he and Wang had agreed to operate the channel on a regular basis, and that as part of that arrangement, they would continue to discuss the possibility of his visiting China at a mutually convenient time.

South Korea and China also agreed to begin full-scale preparations for President Lee Jae Myung to attend the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Shenzhen, China, in November. Wi said he had agreed to take the lead in preparing deliverables for the summit-level exchange in November.


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