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Seoul Says Two Koreas Could Meet US in Vietnam
North and South Korea might hold talks with the United States on the sidelines of an Asian regional meeting in Hanoi next week, South Korea's Foreign Ministry said on Friday.
"We cannot guarantee it (an unofficial contact between the two Koreas and the United States), but there is a high possibility," said Ryu Jeong-hyun, deputy director of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade.
The main topic of the Association of South East Asian Nations Regional Forum discussions would be defense and security issues and it comes after the United States said on Thursday it would resume talks with North Korea, adding support to Seoul's "Sunshine Policy" towards its old foe.
No official schedule has been set between the three countries but a "natural" get-together would be possible at an unofficial banquet on May 16, in the run-up to official meetings between May 17-18, the deputy director added.
Pyongyang has selected Ri Yong-ho, counselor at North Korea's Foreign Ministry, to head the North's three-member delegation.
The local Yonhap news agency reported an official of the South's Foreign Ministry as saying the choice of Ri, who is in charge of confidence-building measures at the ministry, suggested the likelihood of informal contacts between the North and US delegation leader James Kelly.
Kelly is an Assistant Secretary of State for East Asia and Pacific Affairs.
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