ROK FM holds phone talks with Pompeo before visiting DPRK

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South Korean Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha held phone talks with US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Monday before accompanying President Moon Jae-in to Pyongyang Tuesday for the inter-Korean summit, Seoul's foreign ministry said.

Kang and Pompeo exchanged opinions about the recent improvement in inter-Korean relations and the preparations for the Pyongyang summit between Moon and top leader of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) Kim Jong Un.

Moon was set to visit Pyongyang for his third summit with the DPRK leader for three days from Tuesday.

Kang would be the country's first foreign minister to accompany a head of state to Pyongyang for the inter-Korean summit. In the previous two Pyongyang summits in 2000 and 2007, then South Korean presidents were not joined by foreign ministers.

Kang's visit to Pyongyang was to help President Moon talk with the DPRK leader about the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula.

Moon said earlier in the day that the denuclearization was not an issue that can be dealt with by South Korea alone, noting that he would try to find a compromise between what the US and the DPRK sides have demanded.

During the phone talks, Pompeo called for Kang to continue close communications and make continued efforts for the peninsula's denuclearization and the peace regime settlement.

(Cover: People walk past under a banner showing South Korea President Moon Jae-in and DPRK's leader Kim Jong Un to support the upcoming inter-Korean summit in Seoul, South Korea, September 17, 2018. /VCG Photo)

Source(s): Xinhua News Agency