Today, on April 7, Minister Kwon met with United States Special Representative for North Korea Sung Kim.

Minister Kwon shared his assessment of the North Korean situation with Special Representative Kim and emphasized the importance of the international community's cooperation to resolve the Korean Peninsula issues.

Minister Kwon mentioned that the Yoon administration not only seeks to respond to North Korea's provocations on the basis of the ROK-U.S. alliance, but seeks to continue consultation on North Korean human rights, separated families and other humanitarian issues.

Moreover, he mentioned the importance of the international community's cooperation to solve the Korean Peninsula issues and emphasized the role of China in driving change in North Korea.

Special Representative Kim stated that diplomatic solutions remain important while expanding curbs on the North's provocations.

Moreover, Special Representative Kim praised the Korean government's efforts to improve human rights in North Korea and emphasized the need for close and mutual cooperation for humanitarian issues such as North Korean human rights and separated families.

Both sides remarked that the upcoming Korea-U.S summit will further strengthen cooperation between the two countries, and that they hope the summit will further Korea-U.S. cooperation regarding Korean Peninsula issues.