Anchor: Envoys from the U.S. and North Korea wrapped up three days of working-level negotiations in Sweden on Monday, ahead of their leaders' upcoming second summit. With Seoul's nuclear envoy mediating the talks, the two sides are believed to have exchanged views on Pyongyang's denuclearization steps and Washington's corresponding measures.
Choi You Sun has this report.

Report: Washington and Pyongyang's working-level discussions on diplomatic efforts to denuclearize North Korea ended near the Swedish capital Stockholm on Monday.

U.S. Special Representative Stephen Biegun and North Korean Vice Foreign Minister Choe Son-hui kept mum about the three-day negotiations, while host Sweden said the talks concerning development on the Korean Peninsula were "constructive."

The talks followed senior North Korean official Kim Yong-chol's recent visit to Washington, where U.S. President Donald Trump said "a lot of progress" had been made and that he looks forward to meeting North Korean leader Kim Jong-un.

With a framework set for the late February summit meeting, Biegun and Choe are likely to have held extensive discussions on what each side expects from the other when their leaders meet next month.

Since the historical U.S.-North Korea summit in Singapore last June, the two sides have hit an impasse. The U.S. is demanding the North's verifiable denuclearization before Washington lifts pressure, while the North is calling for gradual denuclearization accompanied by corresponding U.S. measures.

It was also significant that South Korea's top nuclear envoy Lee Do-hoon joined Biegun and Choe in Sweden to mediate and to accelerate the negotiations.

It is speculated that through two-way and three-way dialogues, Lee has suggested resumptions of inter-Korean business projects in the North's Gaeseong and Mount Geumgang as possible corresponding measures.

Washington and Pyongyang are expected to continue preparations for the summit either through the Biegun-Choe channel or another high-level meeting between Kim Yong-chol and U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.

In any case, Seoul will carry on its role of bridging the gap between Washington and Pyongyang through its working-group dialogue with the U.S. next month and the inter-Korean liaison office in the North's Gaeseong.
Choi You Sun, KBS World Radio News.