Diplomats of ROK, US, Japan hold virtual talks over Korean Peninsula issue

SEOUL - Senior diplomats of the Republic of Korea (ROK), the United States and Japan have held virtual talks over the nuclear issue on the Korean Peninsula, the ROK's Foreign Ministry said Friday.

Noh Kyu-duk, ROK's special representative for Korean Peninsula peace and security affairs, Sung Kim, acting US Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific affairs, and Takehiro Funakoshi, director-general of the Asian and Oceanian affairs bureau at Japan's foreign ministry, attended the talks.

During the video dialogue, the diplomats shared their assessments on the recent situation on the peninsula, agreeing to closely cooperate to achieve a complete denuclearization of and lasting peace settlement in the peninsula.

They also assessed the "utility" of the trilateral cooperation for peace and stability in the peninsula and Northeast Asia, agreeing to hold follow-up consultations at an appropriate time.

Denuclearization talks between the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) and the United States have been stalled since the second DPRK-US summit ended without agreement at the Vietnamese capital of Hanoi in February 2019.