’Unofficial talks’ between Koreas-US conclude in Finland

The Finnish government released a statement carrying information about the recently concluded “unofficial” diplomatic talks between delegates from North Korea, South Korea and the United States which is believed to have laid the groundwork ahead of the meeting between the Koreas and the probably planned North Korea- US summit.

The brief statement that was released by the Finnish Foreign Ministry mentions about the tripartite talks being held in a positive atmosphere and the aim was to “build confidence and reduce tension in the Korean Peninsula.” Observers widely believe that the meeting was a preparatory exercise for the upcoming Korean Summit and the likely meeting of Kim Jong Un and US President Donald Trump. The two-day long secretive meeting, which was held in the manor house at Helsinki on Monday and Tuesday had 18 delegates from the three countries along with observers from the US and Europe who were also in attendance.

The media had no clue about the identities of delegates and the issues that were raised in the meeting. The Finnish foreign minister, however, stated that denuclearisation was not on cards. However, sources stated that Chao Kang II who handles the affairs related to North America and Kathleen Stephens, former US Ambassador to South Korea were a part of the delegation for their respective countries. 
However, this is not a one-time meeting and a series of unofficial meetings between the current and former officials of the Koreas and the US are to follow in future which will be instrumental in establishing summit expectations and possible agenda issues. The talks at Helsinki happened after North Korea concluded diplomatic talks with Sweden. 

Finnish President Sauli Niinisto stated that his country has a long history to host international summits and middlemen approached him for the same this time. South Korean officials who visited North Korea said that Kim agreed to hold talks with the South Korean President and was also keen to meet the US President. 

Though North Korea is yet to respond to Trump’s proposal to meet in May 2018, its official media stated that there has been an air of change in the relations between North Korea and the US. There are widespread speculations on the upcoming summit and the probable success or failure and its effects on the sensitive nuclear issue.