Top security adviser stresses need for 'substantive progress' on NK nuclear issue

National Security Adviser Wi Sung-lac emphasized the importance of achieving substantial progress on North Korea's nuclear issue during any renewed dialogue between the United States and Pyongyang. Wi stressed the necessity of ensuring South Korea is not marginalized in the process, highlighting the significance of seamless cooperation between Seoul and Washington.

This statement came in response to apprehensions that the U.S. might abandon the denuclearization issue in favor of initiating talks with North Korea and that President Donald Trump's renewed initiative for a summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un could inadvertently sideline the South. During a press conference at Cheong Wa Dae, Wi affirmed support for fostering trust between North Korea and the U.S., aiming to facilitate a revival of talks that would culminate in "substantial progress on the North Korean nuclear issue, along with the establishment of a peaceful and stable Korean Peninsula."