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South Korean President Moon Jae-in speaks at the Blue House presiding over a meeting with senior aides and secretaries on Sept. 17, the day before the inter-Korean summit in Pyongyang. (Blue House photo pool)
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SK President speaks at Blue House ahead of summit on key agenda items
South Korean President Moon Jae-in declared on Sept. 17 that “what we [South Korea] aim to achieve is peace.” “This [means] not a temporary peace that could vary with the international situation, but irreversible and permanent peace that remains unshaken no matter what happens internationally,” he explained. The remarks came during an opening statement at a senior secretaries’ and aides’ meeting at the Blue House one day before the inter-Korean summit in Pyongyang. “I view it as my goal for these talks to have a lot of candid conversation with Chairman Kim Jong-un,” he continued. His remarks were seen as signaling his intention to use the trust established between him and the North Korean leader to bring an end to the Cold War regime on the Korean Peninsula and develop practical plans for establishing permanent peace at their third summit this year. During the meeting, President Moon reiterated the message about South Korea’s “ownership” of Korean Peninsula issues that he has stated multiple times, including in the Panmunjom Declaration following the two leaders’ first summit on Apr. 27. “I believe that establishing a permanent peace regime is a path that will allow South and North to own Korean Peninsula issues and proceed toward shared economic prosperity and reunification without being swayed by the international situation,” he added. President Moon also announced plans during the meeting to focus concerted efforts on certain areas, namely reducing inter-Korean military tensions and encouraging Pyongyang and Washington to end their current deadlock and resume dialogue. In particular, he pledged to focus on “first eliminating the tensions, the threat of an armed clash and fear of war as a result of military antagonisms between South and North Korea, and encouraging North Korea-US dialogue toward denuclearization.” He additionally addressed the issue of the sequence of denuclearization measures and North Korean regime security guarantees, which has been a source of conflict between Pyongyang and Washington. “Since this is not a matter that we [South Korea] can determine the solution of, I hope to have a frank dialogue with Chairman Kim Jong-un on what common ground we might be able to find between the US’s demands for denuclearization measures and the North’s demands for an end to hostile relations and corresponding measures to guarantee regime security,” he said. President Moon repeatedly stressed the importance of “trust” and “commitment” from the North Korean and US leaders. “Several times, we have seen Chairman Kim’s and President [Donald] Trump’s sense of true commitment,” he said. “I am certain that if dialogue gets moving and the two leaders sit down together, progress on the denuclearization issue will take place quickly,” he added. At the same time, he said it was “of paramount importance for the success of North Korea-US dialogue that they eliminate the deep distrust that has built up between them and consider things from the other side’s position.” Importance of focusing on existing agreements instead of making new ones On the matter of inter-Korean relations, he said, “I do not think it is important now to have any new inter-Korean declarations or agreements.” “The important thing is to put the inter-Korean agreements to date steadily into practice and develop a substantive relationship between South and North,” he continued. During a weekly meeting the same day, Moon asked Prime Minister Lee Nak-yeon to play a “central role” in governance during the inter-Korean summit and the UN General Assembly period afterwards, the Blue House reported. With chief National Security Council figures such as Blue House National Security Office Director Chung Eui-yong, Minister of National Defense Song Young-moo, and Minister of Foreign Affairs Kang Kyung-wha accompanying President Moon on his North Korea visit, the administration is expected to establish an emergency system centering on Lee. By Kim Bo-hyeop, staff reporter Please direct comments or questions to [english@hani.co.kr]
