Moon: Seoul will secure complete conclusion of Washington-Pyongyang dialogue

President Moon Jae-in said on Friday that South Korea will closely communicate and cooperate with the United States and North Korea, and thereby secure complete conclusion of their bilateral dialogue. He indicated that Seoul will start arbitration between Washington and Pyongyang in earnest despite the failure to reach agreement in their second bilateral summit on Thursday.

“We now have a more important role to play,” President Moon said at a ceremony commemorating the 100th anniversary of the March 1st Movement at the Gwanghwamun Plaza in Seoul on the day. “Permanent peace on the Korean Peninsula will solidify only after overcoming many challenges,” he said. “Even just holding a long dialogue and increasing mutual understanding and trust at the second U.S.-North Korea summit in Hanoi, Vietnam were meaningful progress. We will consult with the U.S. about ways to resume Mount Kumgang tour and the Kaesong Industrial Park.”

The president also disclosed his idea on a new Korean Peninsula regime based on the assumption of (Pyongyang’s) denuclearization. “A new Korean Peninsula regime will be a new community of economic cooperation that will have ended the era of ideologies and divide,” Moon said. “We will ensure to construct a permanent peace regime based on our unchanging determination, close collaboration between Seoul and Washington, conclusion of U.S.-North Korea dialogue and support from the international community.”

“Liquidating remaining ills from pro-Japanese Koreans (during Japan’s colonial rule), and our diplomacy should be conducted in a future-oriented way,” he said. “To secure peace on the Korean Peninsula, we will also strengthen cooperation with Japan.”


Sang-Jun Han alwaysj@donga.com