International Working Groups

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The U.S. State Department says that South Korea and the U.S. have agreed to set up a new working group to bolster negotiations between the two countries on inter-Korean cooperation projects.

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The two Koreas have been cautiously promoting bilateral cooperation amid the U.N. sanctions against Pyongyang. A groundbreaking ceremony for a railroad project is scheduled to take place soon. The South and the North are also discussing cooperation in the forestry sector. The projects are being carried out without violating the U.N. sanctions against North Korea. The U.S. State Department has announced recently that a new working group will be set up between the U.S. and South Korea to step up negotiations between the two nations on inter-Korean projects. U.S. State Department Deputy Spokesperson Robert Palladino has said in a briefing that the decision was made by U.S. Special Representative for North Korea Stephen Biegun and South Korean government officials. Palladino added that the new working group will facilitate discussions between the U.S. and South Korea not only on inter-Korean projects but on denuclearization and the implementation of sanctions against the North as well. The U.S. State Department said that Stephen Biegun and his team will lead the U.S. side of the new working group. The department also added that no new announcements were expected on the upcoming high-level talks between U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and North Korean Vice Chairman of the Workers' Party Central Committee Kim Yong-chol.