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South Korean President Moon Jae-in speaks with Chinese President Xi Jinping on the phone in the Blue House’s Yeomin Pavilion on May 4. (provided by Blue House)
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Issue of complete, verifiable and irreversible denuclearization to be left for North Korea-US summit
The Blue House has reiterated that the expression “CVID” (short for “complete, verifiable and irreversible denuclearization”) will not appear in the special statement to be released following a summit among the leaders of South Korea, China and Japan that is scheduled to be held in Japan on May 9. This reflects the conclusion that the parties who must tackle the issue of denuclearization are North Korea and the US, which are expected to soon hold a summit of their own. “What we hope to adopt during the trilateral summit is a special statement of the three leaders’ support for the Apr. 27 Panmunjeom Declaration. Aside from that, there will be no language or content related to CVID,” a senior official at the Blue House said during a phone call on May 7. Reports indicate that the South Korean government has already circulated a draft of the special statement of support for the Panmunjeom Declaration to the Chinese and Japanese. The Blue House already expressed a similar position four days ago. “There is no reason for anything about CVID or North Korean sanctions to appear in the special statement from the trilateral summit,” said Kim Eui-kyum, the Blue House spokesperson. The reason the Blue House does not want to include language about CVID in the summit’s special statement is because it regards denuclearization as a matter that must be addressed by North Korea and the US, not South Korea, China and Japan. In the view of the Blue House, for these three countries to use a separate statement to intervene in a matter that must be handled by North Korea and the US would not help them reach a solution. The Blue House also appears to think that it should avoid provoking North Korea and the US or offering unwanted advice when they have yet to reach a complete agreement about the method of denuclearization or even to announce the time and location of the summit. “All that we are asking of China and Japan is their support for the Panmunjeom Declaration. Other demands from China and Japan could make the problem even more complicated. That’s not what we want,” said a senior official at the Blue House. In related news, the Blue House is considering the idea of having President Moon Jae-in attend the G7 summit that will be held in Canada on June 8 in his capacity as an invited leader of a country. “We’re discussing the possibility on a technical level,” a Blue House spokesperson said. Given speculation that the North Korea-US summit might be held before the G7 summit, President Moon’s attendance at this summit could create an opportunity for him to hear about the results of the North Korea-US summit, including the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula, from US President Donald Trump, and for the two to share their views about a future summit between South Korea, North Korea and the US. If the North Korea-US summit is pulled off successfully, the G7 could provide an opportunity to seek the support of the international community for the outcome of the summit. By Seong Yeon-cheol, staff reporter Please direct comments or questions to [english@hani.co.kr]
