National Security Advisor Wi Sung-lac briefs South Korean reporters on President Lee Jae Myung’s state visit to Mongolia at the Korean press center in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, on Thursday. (Yonhap) ULAANBAATAR, Mongolia — Mongolian President Ukhnaagiin Khurelsukh told President Lee Jae Myung that Mongolia would play a role in helping create conditions for the resumption of long-stalled inter-Korean dialogue, according to Cheong Wa Dae.National Security Advisor Wi Sung-lac said Thursday that Seoul and Ulaanbaatar agreed to “strengthen cooperation to achieve peace on the Korean Peninsula” following a summit between Lee and Khurelsukh earlier in the day.“In particular, President Khurelsukh expressed strong support for our government's efforts to realize peace on the Korean Peninsula,” Wi said during a briefing after the summit. “He said that, as Mongolia maintains traditional friendly relations with North Korea, it would play the necessary role so that conditions could be created for improving inter-Korean relations and resuming dialogue.”Wi said the two leaders also “confirmed that regional peace and stability, including on the Korean Peninsula, are in the common interests of both countries.”Both sides “agreed to work closely together to make progress in the situation on the Korean Peninsula,” Wi added.A senior Cheong Wa Dae official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the Lee administration “explained to Mongolia the current situation on the Korean Peninsula and its views on the (North Korean) nuclear issue” during the summit.“Taking that into account, Mongolia expressed its position that it would seek to play a necessary role” in helping create conditions for the resumption of inter-Korean dialogue, the official added.The official noted that “Mongolia is a country that has relations with both South and North Korea and has also developed its own relationship with North Korea.”The official added that Mongolia has previously sought to facilitate communication involving North Korea, including by providing venues for talks and supporting mediation efforts.“As seen in the Ulaanbaatar Dialogue, Mongolia has consistently made efforts to contribute to peace and stability in the region,” the official said.Mongolia occupies a unique diplomatic position in Northeast Asia.The country established diplomatic relations with North Korea in 1948, becoming the second country after the Soviet Union to recognize the North. While maintaining traditional ties with Pyongyang, Ulaanbaatar has also developed close relations with Seoul and has long promoted itself as a neutral venue for regional dialogue.Mongolia has previously hosted contacts between North Korea and Japan, including talks in Ulaanbaatar in 2007 and again in 2012, helping facilitate discussions that later contributed to negotiations over the Japanese abductee issue and the 2014 Stockholm Agreement.Ulaanbaatar has also periodically been mentioned as a potential venue for high-level diplomacy involving North Korea.According to former South Korean President Moon Jae-in's memoirs, the Mongolian capital was considered a possible location for the first US-North Korea summit before Singapore was ultimately selected.The emphasis on dialogue came without any public reference to North Korea's denuclearization during the leaders' joint press conference following the summit.Lee thanked Khurelsukh for “reaffirming his steadfast support for our government's efforts to establish lasting peace on the Korean Peninsula,” but did not mention denuclearization in his public remarks.