North Korea, US to hold working-level talks on Saturday

Oct 02, 2019, 09:16 am

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North Korean First Vice Foreign Minister Choe Son Hui/ Source: Yonhap News

By AsiaToday reporter Lee Jang-won

North Korea announced Tuesday that Pyongyang-Washington dialogue on denuclearization will resume on Oct. 4.

"North Korea and the United States will have a preliminary contact on Oct. 4 before holding working-level talks on Oct. 5," North Korean First Vice Foreign Minister Choe Son Hui said in a statement carried by the North's official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA).

"Our representatives are ready to engage in North Korea-US working-level talks," she said. "I hope that positive improvements in North Korea-US relations will be accelerated through this working-level talks.”

However, Choe did not say where preliminary contacts and working-level talks would take place.

Last month, Choe said that North Korea was willing to sit “face-to-face” with the United States at an agreed time and place around late September.

Many observers said that it would take more time to resume working-level negotiations as U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo revealed at the end of last month that the United States has not been able to arrange working-level meetings with North Korea. However, it seems there was a considerable level of coordination between the two sides considering the North’s announcement.

#North Korea #Choe Son Hui #US #working-level talks