TOKYO, Jan 12 (KUNA) -- The top diplomats of South Korea and the US on Friday discussed the outcome of recent inter-Korean talks and ways to strengthen their coordination on major issues of mutual concern, the Seoul-based Yonhap News Agency reported.
In a phone conversation with US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson earlier in the day, South Korean Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha reaffirmed that Seoul will seek to improve ties with Pyongyang simultaneously with efforts to resolve the current nuclear stalemate, according to the ministry.
They also exchanged views on the outcome of the talks held Tuesday between South and North Korea at the truce village of Panmunjom. Kang thanked the US for maintaining its principle of denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula, which she said helped lead to the first formal talks between the two Koreas since 2015. Tillerson said that it is "encouraging" for the Koreas to resume talks and called for close coordination in mapping out follow-up measures.
The two promised to meet on the sidelines of a gathering to be held in Canada next week to further discuss cooperation, the ministry said. The Canada meeting scheduled for Tuesday will bring together ministers from countries that fought alongside South Korea during the 1950-53 Korean War. (end) mk.hb