S. KOREA EMPHASIZES PEACE PROCESS

[Anchor Lead]

The U.S. government says it is pursuing dialogue with North Korea and there is no shift in the stance, despite Pyongyang’s latest cruise missile test. Amid this situation, South Korea will hold a series of talks with the U.S., Japan and China on Tuesday and Wednesday.

[Pkg]

​The White House says there will be no change in its principle of pursuing a diplomatic approach with North Korea. This is despite the regime’s latest long-range cruise missile test. It added that the U.S. remains prepared to engage with the North to achieve the goal of completely denuclearizing the Korean Peninsula and its previous proposal to meet unconditionally is still valid.

[Soundbite] Karine Jean-Pierre(White House Deputy Press Secretary)

The U.S. assessed the latest North Korean missile test as a threat to neighboring countries in a statement released by the Indo-Pacific Command, not the Pentagon. This indicates Washington’s intention to keep dialogue opportunities open by making lower-level responses to the missile test, which is not in violation of the UN Security Council resolutions. The South Korean government also reiterated the urgency of dialogue with Pyongyang for resolving the North Korea issues fundamentally.

[Soundbite] Chung Eui-yong(Minister of Foreign Affairs) : "North Korea’s resumed nuclear and missile activities clearly show the desperate need for dialogue and engagement with Pyongyang to resolve these problems fundamentally."

Amid this atmosphere, South Korea will hold a series of talks with the U.S., Japan and China to discuss North Korea. Top nuclear envoys of South Korea and Japan held a meeting in Tokyo on Monday. On Tuesday, South Korea held bilateral talks with the U.S. and then trilateral discussions with the two countries. Attention is being drawn to what message Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi will deliver during his two-day visit to Seoul, which begins on Tuesday. South Korea and China are expected to discuss the resumption of dialogue with Pyongyang and the provision of humanitarian aid as well measures to address signs of the North restarting nuclear activities and stepping up its military capacity.