Moon, Trump to hold a summit on April 11 in Washington

South Korean President Moon Jae-in will meet with U.S. President Donald Trump on April 11 in Washington D.C. for a bilateral summit in an effort to help the U.S. and North Korea reach an agreement after their collapsed summit in Hanoi in February.

“President Moon Jae-in will make a two-day trip to the U.S. on April 10 and meet with President Trump on April 11 (local time),” said Yoon Do-han, senior presidential secretary for public relations, on Friday. “The two leaders plan to strengthen bilateral relations and have in-depth talks on establishing peace on the Korean Peninsula through complete denuclearization of North Korea.” There have been six bilateral summits between South Korea and the U.S. since President Moon took office. The last meeting was made during the G20 Summit in Argentina last November.

The White House announced on the same day that Trump will host the South Korean president in April, adding that the U.S.-South Korea alliance “remains the linchpin of peace and security on the Korean Peninsula and in the region” and President Moon’s visit will strengthen the alliance and friendship between the two countries.

Washington showed its willingness to narrow the differences between the two countries on denuclearization and bring North Korea back to the negotiating table by using the word “linchpin,” which it has not used for some time to refer to the Seoul-Washington alliance.


Sang-Jun Han alwaysj@donga.com · Kwan-Seok Jang jks@donga.com