S. Korean president meets U.S. intelligence director Coats

SEOUL, March 20 (Yonhap) -- South Korean President Moon Jae-in on Wednesday met U.S. Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats for talks that likely focused on ways to bring North Korea back to the table for denuclearization talks.

The meeting at Moon's presidential office Cheong Wa Dae came one day after Coats arrived here.

"President Moon and U.S. Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats held wide and in-depth discussions on issues concerning both South Korea and the United States," Cheong Wa Dae spokesman Kim Eui-kyeom said in a released statement.

Coats' trip to Seoul follows the recent collapse of U.S.-North Korea negotiations on ending the North's nuclear program.

U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un held their second summit in Hanoi late last month, but the meeting ended abruptly without a deal.

North Korea's Vice Foreign Minister Choe Son-hui later said Pyongyang may reconsider holding denuclearization negotiations with Washington.

Seoul is hoping to help narrow the gap between the U.S. and North Korea through its own dialogue with the communist state, possibly including an inter-Korean summit.

bdk@yna.co.kr
(END)