South Korea on Friday backed 
Donald Trump's bid to revive talks with North Korea, while seeking to ensure its security posture is not weakened and that Seoul is not sidelined in the process. Wi Sung-lac, the national security adviser, told reporters that resumed U.S.-North Korea talks should focus on progress on the nuclear weapons issue and must not undermine the South's security readiness, the Japan Times reported.
What prompted the statement? Speaking at a Cheong Wa Dae briefing, Wi cited Trump's recent cuts to joint South Korea-U.S. exercises and field manoeuvre training, and his repeated signals that he wants to engage the North, CNA reported. Trump justified the cut, which PTS reported shortened the annual Ulchi Freedom Shield exercise from 11 days to five at short notice, on the grounds that the drills were costly and hostile. Asked why North Korean leader Kim Jong-un had not answered his call for talks, Trump said Kim had. The day after the cut was announced, North Korea fired 10 short-range ballistic missiles from Pyongyang into waters off its east coast.
What does Seoul want from any talks? Wi said Seoul must coordinate with the United States so that any resumed dialogue "leads to substantive progress on the North Korean nuclear issue, alongside efforts to establish a peace regime on the Korean Peninsula." Describing South Korea as a party to, and "pacemaker" for, peace on the peninsula, he said Seoul must also avoid any slackening of its defences or being skipped over, CNA reported. He listed investment, issues involving companies such as Coupang, security and intelligence cooperation, and wartime operational control among open issues between the two allies, saying the government was working to coordinate them.
What has Washington said? Speculation has continued that Trump, who recently expressed his intention to meet Kim later this year, could seek a meeting on an Asia trip likely tied to the APEC summit in Shenzhen in November, Yonhap reported, citing The Wall Street Journal. The State Department on Wednesday reaffirmed the U.S. commitment to North Korea's "complete" denuclearization, after Trump said Pyongyang has 57 "very powerful" nuclear weapons and declined to say whether denuclearization remains his goal. Anthony Ruggiero, the National Security Council's North Korea director in Trump's first term, wrote in The Hill that negotiations with Kim would likely include "at least a tacit acknowledgement" of the North's nuclear weapons program.
Figures referenced: Donald Trump. — JudgeMarket.
