 |
|
South Korean President Moon Jae-in meets with US Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats at the Blue House on Mar. 20. (provided by the Blue House)
|
Dan Coats discusses N. Korean affairs with top national security officials
South Korean President Moon Jae-in met on Mar. 20 with visiting US Director of National Intelligence (DNI) Dan Coats, the Blue House reported. The Office of the Director of National Intelligence oversees US intelligence institutions including the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). “President Moon and US DNI Dan Coats exchanged opinions broadly and in depth on matters concerning South Korea and the US,” Blue House spokesperson Kim Eui-kyum said in a written briefing that afternoon. Blue House National Security Office director Chung Eui-yong reportedly met separately with Coats ahead of his meeting with President Moon to discuss plans for reviving North Korea-US denuclearization talks. “My understanding is that [Coats] has met or will be meeting with all of the senior-level unification, foreign affairs, and national security officials, including his counterpart [National Intelligence Agency Director] Suh Hoon and Chung,” said a senior Blue House official in a telephone interview with the Hankyoreh that day. The official explained that the meetings were intended to “share information with our side on the situation since the second North Korea-US summit in Hanoi ended without producing an agreement.” Chung and Coats reportedly analyzed the content of a May 15 press conference in Pyongyang by North Korean Vice Foreign Minister Choe Son-hui and had an in-depth conversation about North Korea’s actual intentions. Regarding the prospects for sending a special envoy to North Korea or pursuing another inter-Korean summit at Panmunjeom, the Blue House official said, “We’re not at that stage yet.” “Right now we need to gauge the intentions of North Korea and the US a bit more. We’ll be able to see the road ahead more clearly once the dust settles a bit,” the official added. By Kim Bo-hyeop, staff reporter Please direct comments or questions to [english@hani.co.kr]
