Senior diplomats from South Korea and the United States have agreed to work closely to open denuclearization talks with North Korea, the Korean foreign ministry said Thursday.
First Vice Foreign Minister Lim Sung-nam met US Deputy Secretary of State John Sullivan and Deputy National Security Adviser Ricky Waddell in Washington on Wednesday to discuss the on-going dialogue between South and North Korea and the North's nuclear issue, Yonhap news agency reported.
During the meetings, Lim communicated the results of the series of high- and working-level talks the South has recently held with the North, the ministry said.
South Korean and American officials agreed to cooperate closely so that the inter-Korean talks can lead to new dialogue with the North on denuclearisation.
The two sides also concurred that the foreign ministers' meeting held in Vancouver, Canada earlier this week affirmed the international community's solidarity for a peaceful and diplomatic resolution of the North Korean nuclear issue, the news agency added.
Lim and Sullivan also agreed to host a strategic dialogue between the two countries' vice foreign ministers sometime in the first half of this year to discuss bilateral and global issues, according to the ministry.

Source: BNA