Sung Kim, the US representative to North Korea, separated from the North Korean dialogue on South Korea's request for an end-of-war declaration in Seoul, separated from the South Korea-U.S.-Japan trilateral consultation, and switched to a South Korea-U.S. consultation.
U.S. State Department special representative for North Korea Seong Kim told reporters after a closed consultation with Noh Kyu-duk, head of the Korean Peninsula peace negotiations, "As we are pursuing a common goal on the Korean Peninsula issue, we are looking for various ideas and initiatives, including the declaration of an end to the Korean War with Roh Kyu-duk, head of the Korean Peninsula negotiations at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. "We are still prepared to meet with North Korea unconditionally, and we have made it clear that the United States has no hostile intentions toward North Korea. We hope that North Korea responds positively." said on the 24th.
Representative Sung Kim entered Korea on the 23rd and said, "(Last 18-19) I had good discussions with Kyu-deok Noh, head of the Korean Peninsula peace negotiation headquarters, and Funakoshi, director of the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Washington. I look forward to continuing productive discussions with Director Roh in the Seoul meeting." The meeting was announced on the 19th.
Noh Gyu-deok, head of the peace negotiation headquarters, said immediately after the Washington meeting on the 19th, "A significant part of the discussions was devoted to in-depth discussions related to the end of the war. He revealed that the demand for an end-of-war declaration was substantial.
At a press conference at the Seoul meeting, Director Roh said, "As an extension of the discussions we had in Washington, we had serious and in-depth discussions with Chairman Kim today on the proposal for an end-of-war declaration. I expect the North to respond as soon as possible,” he said, revealing the separation between the US dialogue with North Korea and the end-of-war declaration negotiations. We decided to have it,” he said, suggesting that additional consultations on the declaration of an end to the war would separate from the trilateral consultations between South Korea and the United States.
Director Roh and U.S. Representative Sung Kim held three-country face-to-face consultations with Takehiro Funakoshi, director of the Asian and Oceanian Affairs Bureau of the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Washington from the 18th to the 19th, followed by another discussion in Seoul on the same day.
The tripartite meeting is the fourth after Tokyo, Japan (September 14) and Jakarta, Indonesia (September 30).
At the National Assembly on the 20th, Foreign Minister Chung Eui-yong said, "The pursuit of an end-of-war declaration is to build trust between the two countries and create an atmosphere of dialogue," adding, "This is the first gateway to the peace process on the Korean Peninsula."
Foreign Minister Candidate Chung Eui-yong said in a response to a personnel hearing on February 3 that "the declaration of an end to the war is part of the process of denuclearization, and we will strive to rekindle the peace process on the Korean Peninsula through discussions on the declaration of an end."
On November 6, 2018, Minister Jeong responded to the National Assembly's response from the head of the Blue House's Security Office, saying, "As much as possible, as promised by the leaders of the two Koreas, we are in consultation with the relevant countries so that a declaration of an end to the war is possible within this year." . Various measures are possible,” he said, revealing the possibility of reaching an end-of-war agreement at the working level.