President Moon Jae-in discusses the expected inter-Korean and U.S.-North Korea summits with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and U.S. President Donald Trump on March 16. (Cheong Wa Dae)
By Sohn JiAe
President Moon Jae-in shared his thoughts on the latest changes on the Korean Peninsula as he held phone conversations with the U.S. and Japanese leaders on March 16.
In the 35-minute phone call with President Trump, President Moon briefed him on the results of his special delegation’ visits to China, Japan and Russia and told him that all these three countries fully supported the expected dialogue between Washington and Pyongyang scheduled for this May.
President Moon then stressed that the countries should continue to work closely in the process of facilitating dialogue with North Korea every step of the way so that the regime would take concrete actions toward denuclearization.
“Denuclearization on the peninsula is the most crucial goal and process of securing peace not only for the region, but also for the world as a whole. We will never yield ground in achieving denuclearization under any circumstances and any conditions,” he said.
President Moon also said that his administration hopes the late-April summit with the North would be successful so as to set the scene for the following U.S.-North Korea summit, and that it would brace for concerns stemming from any mistakes of the past.
In the earlier phone conversation with the Japanese leader, President Moon emphasized that peace on the peninsula would not be achieved only with an inter-Korean summit. “When Pyongyang improves ties not only with the South, but also with the U.S. and Japan, can the inter-Korean relationship make progress,” he said, stressing the close trilateral cooperation among Seoul, Washington and Tokyo.
In response, Abe expressed his hope that the two upcoming summits would lead to possible dialogue between Japan and the North.
The two leaders also agreed on the need for a trilateral summit among Korea, China and Japan as soon as possible, and for President Moon to visit Tokyo in order to resolve issues of mutual interest.
