Asked by: Paul Masterton (Conservative - East Renfrewshire)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with the (a) US administration, (b) Japanese Government and (c) South Korean Government on the planned talks between the US and North Korea.
Answered by Mark Field
The Foreign Secretary regularly speaks to his counterparts from the United States, Japan and Republic of Korea to encourage a diplomatic solution to the threat posed by North Korea. The UK welcomes that President Trump has agreed to hold direct talks with Kim Jong Un. We also welcome the positive developments from the inter-Korean Summit held on 27 April.
The Foreign Secretary most recently met with US Secretary of State Pompeo at the NATO Foreign Ministers meeting in Brussels on 27 April. The Foreign Secretary met with Japanese Foreign Minister Kono and the then acting US Secretary of State Sullivan at the G7 Foreign Ministers Meeting in Toronto on 24 April. The G7 meeting focused on tackling global security issues, such as the threat posed by North Korea. Ministers agreed the importance of the upcoming inter-Korean and US-North Korea Summits as an important step to achieve the complete, verifiable and irreversible denuclearisation of the Korean Peninsula.
The Foreign Secretary last met ROK Foreign Minister Kang at the 19 March EU Foreign Affairs Council where they agreed the importance of maintaining the maximum pressure campaign to support talks.