S.Korean Unification Minister Postpones Visit To US Over Uncertainties In Ties With North

SEOUL (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 15th June, 2021) South Korean Unification Minister Lee In-young has postponed his visit to the United States scheduled for June due to uncertainty over inter-Korean relations, the Yonhap news agency reported on Tuesday, citing a ministry official.

The minister was set to pay a visit to the US later in June to coordinate the countries' approach toward North Korea, given that Washington completed the review of its policy toward Pyongyang in April and reaffirmed its commitment to seeking engagement with the North to reach the complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula.

"The minister's plan to visit the U.S. later in June has been temporarily put on hold," the official said, pointing to the need "to decide on schedules (for such a trip) by looking into situations given that there are various uncertainties over matters related to inter-Korean relations.

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Both the dialogue between Washington and Pyongyang, as well as the inter-Korean one, have hit a deadlock since the failed US-North Korean summit in Hanoi in February 2019, during which then-US President Donald Trump demanded more decisive steps from Pyongyang to give up its nuclear weapons. North Korea, in turn, accused the United States of failing to fulfill prior commitments.

The inter-Korean dialogue is also at a low point due to a campaign of South-based defectors flying anti-Pyongyang leaflets on balloons across the border launched last June. The move resulted in the North threatening the South with a state-level action and blowing up the joint communications office.