U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry held talks Thursday in Seoul on curbing North Korea’s nuclear program, as the two Koreas locked horns at rare, high-level talks over looming South Korea-U.S. military drills.
South Korea was Kerry’s first stop on an Asia tour that will also take him to China and Indonesia, with a focus on regional tensions stoked by China’s territorial claims.
“North Korea — obviously the challenge with their nuclear program — remains an essential security issue,” Kerry said as he met President Park Geun-hye shortly after arriving.
As well as discussing efforts to rein in Pyongyang’s nuclear ambitions, Kerry will be briefed on a diplomatic initiative that saw the two Koreas sit down Wednesday for their highest-level official talks since 2007.
The discussions ran late into the night, and ended without any tangible agreement or joint statement.
But the two sides announced a second round would be held Friday in the border truce village of Panmunjom where the armistice ending the 1950-53 Korean War was signed 60 years ago.
http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2014/02/13/asia-pacific/kerry-in-seoul-for-talks-on-north-koreas-nuclear-arms-ambitions/#.Uv3H82KSyWc
