Moon expresses willingness to give Kim Jong-un tour of Mt. Halla during reciprocal visit to Seoul

S. Korean president highlights economy and peace process for final goals in 2018

On Oct. 28, South Korean President Moon Jae-in mentioned the Korean expression “from Mt. Baekdu to Mt. Halla” while saying he would be willing to give North Korean leader Kim Jong-un a tour of Mt. Halla if he wants to during his reciprocal visit to Seoul.

Moon made the remarks on the morning of Oct. 28 in response to a question about Kim’s visit while he was hiking on Mt. Bugak, behind the Blue House, with Blue House press corps.

“I received such a warm welcome on my last visit [to North Korea] that I’m not sure where I ought to take Chairman Kim when he actually pays a return visit. Since the schedule hasn’t been nailed down, we aren’t making any plans yet. We still don’t know how much time he’ll be spending here, but once the schedule is set we’ll work within those parameters,” Moon added.

When Moon was asked which goals he wants the government to focus on with barely two months left in the year, he chose the areas of the economy and the peace process on the Korean Peninsula.

“If this were a household, I guess we could do home repairs this month and get ready for winter next month, but when you’re running the government, multiple projects have to move forward simultaneously,” Moon observed.

“Both in terms of foreign policy and the economy, there’s a lot of work to do. And so that’s not an easy question to answer, but at any rate we’ll be working with North Korea on the one hand and with the US on the other hand to ensure the ongoing peace process does not fail and we make the most of opportunities,” he said.

While Kim and Moon reached an agreement in Panmunjom on Apr. 27 to formally declare the end of the Korean War within the year and agreed in the Pyongyang Joint Declaration, signed on Sept. 19, that Kim would pay a reciprocal visit to Seoul. Carrying out those agreements will depend on Kim’s second summit with US President Donald Trump. As such, Moon’s remarks are taken to mean he will put an even greater effort into mediating between North Korea and the US and facilitating an improvement in their relations with the goal of bringing peace and denuclearization to the Korean Peninsula.

South Korean President Moon Jae-in and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un pose for a photograph at the top of Mount Baekdu on Sept. 20, the third day of the Pyongyang summit. (photo pool)

Moon made the following remarks about economic problems: “We’ll continue providing relief for difficulties with the public livelihood, which are evident to the public whatever the macro economic indicators may say, while also energetically moving ahead with our policy platform of income-led growth, innovative growth and a fair economy. The conclusion of this session of the National Assembly will be crucial toward this end. We need a lot of legislative support, and in that sense we’ll do our best to cooperate with the National Assembly to ensure that the necessary budget bill passes.”

On Nov. 1, Moon will be delivering an administrative policy speech to the National Assembly in which he asks both the ruling and opposition parties for their cooperation in passing the budget bill and other legislation.

The hike on Sunday began around 11 am at Hongryeon Temple on the east side of Mt. Bukak and lasted for two hours, passing through Sukjeong Gate, along the Baegak Valley fortifications and Cheongundae to Changui Gate. Moon was accompanied by Lim Jong-seok, his chief of staff, along with a number of his senior secretaries, including Han Byeong-do (political affairs), Cho Guk (civil affairs), Lee Yong-seon (civic society), Yoon Young-chan (public relations) and Jung Tae-ho (jobs).

By Kim Bo-hyeop, staff reporter

Please direct comments or questions to [[e-mail]]