S. Korea, US hold bilateral meeting in Manila

MANILA - 6 Aug 2017: Top diplomats of South Korea and the United States held talks in Manila on Sunday to discuss concerted efforts to deal with the growing threats from North Korea's nuclear and missile programs, Yonhap reported.

South Korean Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha met with US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson on the sidelines of a string of ministerial meetings hosted by the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.

Kang and Tillerson called the adoption by the United Nations Security Council to impose fresh sanctions against the North a "very good outcome."

Kang, in particular, expressed gratitude for the US' "full consultations" with the Seoul government in the process of adopting a fresh sanctions resolution against North Korea.

"(It's) a very, very good outcome, and thank you and congratulations," Kang told Tillerson. "It's a very good outcome and thank you for the full consultations with us in the process. Much appreciate it."

The UNSC adopted a new sanctions resolution against the North in response to its recent intercontinental missile tests.

Resolution 2371, the eighth adopted by the Security Council since 2006, focuses on making it hard for the reclusive state to obtain hard currency that could be channeled into making weapons.

In response to a question at the start about what more can be done after the UNSC's latest action against the North, Tillerson said, "We will talk about that."

Wrapping up the meeting lasting about 35 minutes, Kang told reporters that the resolution contains measures that are quite important and could be effective in a practical manner. She said Tillerson was also quite satisfied with the outcome.

Kang said that she explained to Tillerson more about the Seoul government's push for inter-Korean talks aimed at easing tensions and holding reunions of families separated by the 1950-53 Korean War.

Last month, South Korea proposed such talks to the North, but Pyongyang has yet to respond.

With regard to an earlier report that North Korean Foreign Minister Ri Yong-ho said that he has no plans to meet her on the sidelines of the ASEAN meetings, Kang expected there will be a chance for a "natural encounter."

"Please ask the North delegation why it doesn't want to meet us," she said.