Daniel Krittenbrink visits Seoul for nuclear talks

The U.S. State Department announced that Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs Daniel Krittenbrink will be visiting Korea on Wednesday and meet with the South Korean government to discuss broad issues including on dealing with North Korea’s nuclear program and achieving full de-nuclearization on the Korean Peninsula.

“I would suspect that the threat that is posed by the DPRK’s missile and ballistic – ballistic missile and nuclear program will certainly be on the table, as will our strategy to advance the prospects for the complete and total denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula will also be a topic of discussion as well,” replied U.S. State Department Spokesperson Ned Price to a question asking whether Krittenbrink will discuss on the end-of-war declaration in a briefing held on Wednesday (local time). He also added that “our relationship with the ROK, our treaty ally, is broad and it’s deep. So, that there will be a number of issues that they discuss together.” It was a generic reply that did not deny or endorse the possibility of end-of-war discussion.

He also answered, “We see eye-to-eye with our South Korean counterparts that achieving a complete denuclearization and lasting peace on the Korean Peninsula through dialogue and diplomacy is the best and the most effective course,” in response to a question that pointed out that National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan had said that Seoul and Washington have different perspectives on the end of war declaration. “We will continue to seek engagement with the DPRK as part of what we have called a calibrated and practical approach, in order to make tangible progress that increases the security not only for the United States but also for our regional allies. And of course, that includes the ROK and Japan as well,” he added.

The State Department described Krittenbrink’s visit to South Korea and Japan “to reaffirm the U.S. commitment to our allies as we work together to tackle the most serious global challenges of the 21st Century.”