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South Korean President Moon Jae-in speaks on the phone with US President Donald Trump at the Blue House on Feb. 28.
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Two leaders talk on phone directly after Hanoi summit
On Feb. 28, South Korean President Moon Jae-in told US President Donald Trump that he hopes that Trump will keep making bold decisions and remain committed to achieving peace on the Korean Peninsula. Moon also expressed his desire to have a meeting with Trump before long. “I hope that you‘ll make bold decisions and remain committed to achieving the historic task of ending the era of conflict and confrontation on the Korean Peninsula, the last place on earth still affected by the Cold War, and to ushering in a new age of peace,” Moon said during a phone call with Trump after negotiations broke down in the second North Korea-US summit, according to Blue House Spokesperson Kim Eui-kyeom. “We’ll also provide full support and play the necessary role through close cooperation with the US,” Moon was quoted as saying. The conversation, which lasted for 25 minutes, took place when Trump called Moon while aboard Air Force One after departing Hanoi, Vietnam, and returning to the US. “The two leaders discussed the primary results of the North Korea-US summit and their assessments of those results and also shared their opinions in detail about how South Korea and the US can cooperate on future measures,” Kim Eui-kyeom said. Moon called for continuing dialogue between North Korea and the US. Moon praised Trump for meeting personally with Chairman Kim once again after their summit in Singapore and for having a lengthy and in-depth discussion about achieving their shared goals of the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula and establishing lasting peace. Since the two leaders have personally confirmed their respective positions and discussed the details, Moon said, he looks forward to positive results emerging from future deliberations. Trump reportedly asks Moon to play proactive role as mediator While Trump expressed his regret about failing to reach an agreement in the summit, he made clear that he’s committed to reaching a breakthrough in subsequent dialogue with North Korea, the Blue House spokesperson reported. Trump also reportedly asked Moon to play a proactive role as a mediator by talking with Kim Jong-un and sharing the results of that dialogue with Trump and called for close cooperation to ensure that North Korea takes steps to put its commitment to denuclearization into practice. “President Trump said that he wanted to let President Moon be the first to hear about the results of his summit with Chairman Kim and to get President Moon’s opinion. President Trump provided President Moon with a detailed explanation of what happened during the summit,” Kim Eui-kyum said. Moon expressed that he would like to have a summit with Trump at an early date. “President Moon suggested that they continue their discussion in more depth by meeting in person soon, and President Trump expressed his agreement and suggested discussing that through diplomatic channels,” Kim said. By Seong Yeon-cheol, staff reporter Please direct comments or questions to [english@hani.co.kr]
