Minister of Foreign Affairs Yun Byung-se (second from left) poses for a commemorative photo with a delegation from The Washington Times on Jan. 4 in Seoul.
“Seoul and Washington should coordinate more closely to deter North Korea’s attempts to engage in strategic provocations.”
Minister of Foreign Affairs Yun Byung-se met with a delegation from The Washington Times newspaper on Jan. 4 in Seoul to share his views with the group about ways to further advance Korea-U.S. relations, as well as ways to handle any issue involving North Korean nuclear weapons.
The newspaper delegation included President Michael Jenkins of The Washington Times Foundation, Executive Thomas McDevitt of The Washington Times and President Thomas Walsh of the Universal Peace Federation (UPF).
Noting that Pyongyang carried out two nuclear tests and launched a diverse range of 24 ballistic missiles last year, the foreign minister underlined the need for Seoul and Washington to “continue to enforce tough sanctions and put pressure on the regime, as well as beef up our combined defense posture and deterrence against it, under the incoming U.S. administration.”
He spoke of the Korean government’s ongoing consultations with the new Trump administration-elect, asking The Washington Times to “continue to take an active part in efforts to further strengthen our alliance during the tenure of the new administration.”
In response, the newspaper expressed its confidence in advances in Korea-U.S. ties, even during a Trump administration. The newspaper said, “The Washington Times will make efforts to raise awareness in the U.S. of the value and significance of the Seoul-Washington alliance, as well as of nuclear weapons, human rights and other issues involving North Korea.”
By Sohn JiAe
Korea.net Staff Writer
Photo: Ministry of Foreign Affairs
jiae5853@korea.kr
