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South Korean President Moon Jae-in and US President Donald Trump shake hands before their summit at the White House on May 22. (Blue House photo pool)
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Two leaders discuss means of providing regime security for North Korea
South Korean President Moon Jae-in held a summit at the White House with US President Donald Trump around noon on May 22, with the two leaders holding a discussion focused on resolving the North Korean nuclear issue and establishing peace on the Korean Peninsula. During their fourth summit since taking office, the two leaders also shared thoughtful opinions on the difficulties facing the Korean Peninsula after Pyongyang’s recent change in attitude. In remarks before their one-on-one meeting, President Moon pledged to offer his unstinting support for the success of an upcoming North Korea-US summit, which is predicted to have crucial implications for the future of the Korean Peninsula. Trump in turn raised the possibility of the summit’s postponement. “It has a chance to be a great, great meeting,” Trump said, adding, "If it doesn't happen, maybe it'll happen later.” But after their one-and-one and extended meetings, the two leaders “agreed to do their best to ensure the North Korea-US summit goes ahead as scheduled on June 12,” the Blue House reported. “The two leaders assessed the attitude recently shown toward South Korea and the US by North Korea and discussed means of removing regime insecurity now that North Korea has declared plans for complete denuclearization for the first time,” Blue House Senior Secretary to the President for Public Relations Yoon Young-chan said in a briefing. “President Moon said there was no cause for questioning North Korea’s commitment to holding the summit with the US, and stressed the need for discussions between North Korea and the US on real and concrete denuclearization and regime security,” Yoon added. Yoon also reported President Moon as predicting high-level inter-Korean talks and other dialogue would “resume after May 25, which is the ending date for the Max Thunder joint South Korea-US military exercises that North Korea has condemned.” “The two leaders also exchanged opinions on the matter of the three countries jointly declaring an end to the [Korean] War after the North Korea-US summit, as agreed upon by South and North in the Panmunjeom Declaration [following their Apr. 27 inter-Korean summit],” he continued. In remarks ahead of his one-on-one meeting with Trump, President Moon said, “Thanks to your vision of achieving peace through strength, as well as your strong leadership, we’re looking forward to the first-ever US-North Korea summit. And we find ourselves standing one step closer to the dream of achieving complete denuclearization on the Korean Peninsula and world peace.” “I have to say that the fate and the future of the Korean Peninsula hinge on this. And as such, I’ll spare no effort to the end to support the success of the upcoming US-North Korea summit, and stand with you all along the way, Mr. President,” President Moon told Trump. The two leaders did hint at some differences on the North Korea-US summit in their joint press conference ahead of their summit proper. Stressing that denuclearization “must take place,” Trump said it “will be great” if the summit happens, adding, “If it doesn’t happen, maybe it will happen later.” His remarks read as his first hint at the possibility of a postponement since agreeing to the North Korea-US talks. Moon addresses US skepticism over summit In response, President Moon addressed current skepticism over the summit within the US. “I am very much aware that there are many skeptical views within the United States about whether the upcoming US-North Korea summit will truly be successful and whether the complete denuclearization of North Korea will be realized,” he said. “But I don’t think there will be positive developments in history if we just assume that because it all failed in the past, it will fail again,” he continued. Even after Trump’s previous mention of the possibility of the summit’s postponement, President Moon said he had “every confidence” the summit would take place as scheduled. “My role is less a position of mediating between the US and North Korea than as a partner in close coordination and cooperation with the US for the success of the North Korea-US summit, which stands to have a huge impact on the fate of the Korean Peninsula and Republic of Korea,” he stressed. A Blue House senior official said, “The South Korea-US summit ahead of the North Korea-US summit was very successful, and the North Korea-US summit is far more likely to go ahead as scheduled than to be postponed.” In a press conference at the US State Department that afternoon, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo pledged to do his best for the success of the North Korea summit scheduled for June 12. His remarks went some way toward battling skepticism from some quarters in Washington in the wake of North Korea’s recent hardline comments on South Korea and US and threat to boycott the summit. Meeting with President Moon that morning at the guest house that morning, Pompeo said he had been cooperating well with South Korean National Intelligence Service director Suh Hoon, adding the two were cooperating on and discussing North Korea-related issues. By Kim Bo-hyeop, Blue House correspondent Please direct comments or questions to [english@hani.co.kr]
