S. Korea briefed in detail on U.S.-N Korea meeting results: official

July 1, 2019

 The United States has briefed South Korea in detail on “important” issues related to the outcome of weekend talks between President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, a Cheong Wa Dae official said Monday.

Trump and Kim agreed Sunday to restart working-level nuclear negotiations in a few weeks during their impromptu meeting at Panmunjom in the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) that divides the two Koreas. Trump became the first sitting U.S. president to step into the North Korean soil.

After holding the one-on-one meeting, Trump walked together with President Moon Jae-in toward his car. Trump provided Moon with some relevant information and requested a private conversation just before getting into his car, according to the official.

“The two whispered to each other and important contents were included (in their conversation),” the official said in a background briefing. “And then we received a detailed briefing from the U.S. side yesterday afternoon.”

Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha was given the briefing, the official said, but did not disclose who the briefer was or how they communicated, let alone what the “important” information is.

he official did not take additional questions from reporters, citing a background briefing time limit.

Yun Kun-young, director of Cheong Wa Dae’s state affairs planning and monitoring office, was in charge of South Korea’s preparations for the DMZ event, including discussions on logistics, protocol and media coverage.

Yun, who has experience in talking with North Koreans on such issues, was deemed suitable for the role, given a very short preparation period, the official added.

North Korea’s state news agency, Korean Central News Agency, reported that Kim and Trump agreed in the DMZ talks to “keep in close touch in the future” and “resume and push forward productive dialogues for making a new breakthrough in the denuclearization of the Korean peninsula and in the bilateral relations.”