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The Facebook page of Justice Party lawmaker, who is currently visiting Washington, DC, with special presidential advisor of foreign affairs and national security Moon Chung-in
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Justice Party lawmaker visiting Washington, DC, was assured the matter will be “closely considered”
Justice Party lawmaker Kim Jong-dae, who is currently visiting Washington, DC, with special presidential advisor of foreign affairs and national security Moon Chung-in, received a positive response from associates of US President Donald Trump when he suggested to them that an upcoming North Korea-US summit should be held at Panmunjeom, he reported on May 5. Explaining his reasons for suggesting Panmunjeom as a venue in a Facebook post early that morning, Kim wrote, “It is the surest way to guarantee the summit’s success while maximally playing up the historic nature of the North Korea-US summit.” “If Panmunjeom is chosen as a venue for the North Korea-US summit, it would carry the added meaning of a de facto ‘trilateral summit’ by South and North Korea and the US,” he suggested. Kim went on to say he had been told by a Trump associate that the matter would be “closely considered and definitely reported to President Trump.” Kim arrived in the US on May 1 to attend the first Atlantic Council-East Asia Foundation Strategic Dialogue in Washington alongside Moon Chung-in, East Asia Foundation representative Kim Sung-hwan, Seoul National University Graduate School of International Studies dean Park Cheol-hee, and Democratic Party lawmaker Park Beom-kye. “Singapore, which some people have mentioned, could not be assigned any real meaning. The summit needs to be historic – a summit with soul,” Kim said. “Since we stated our position, it seems like many of the dark clouds of pessimism in Washington have cleared and a light of hope is now shining,” he added. “Since yesterday, even the experts who had been cynical at first have started watching our [visiting] group with a lot of curiosity,” he noted. Relaying the mood in Washington in a Facebook message the day before, Kim wrote, “We’ve met over 50 major figures, but just two of them have expressed hopeful anticipation for the upcoming North Korea-US summit.” “Half the broadcast was reporting on Trump’s scandal, and intellectuals looked skeptically at Trump for meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un under the circumstances,” he added. “Even Senate Foreign Relations Committee ranking member [Edward] Markey, who is known to be the biggest supporter of inter-Korean dialogue among US politicians, started out by wishing for the success of the summit but ended with pointed remarks directly at the Trump administration.” By Seo Young-ji, staff reporter Please direct comments or questions to [english@hani.co.kr]
