[Yonhap News Photo]
SEOUL -- South Korean President Moon Jae-in cautioned Wednesday against high expectations on rapprochement or a possible detente with North Korea, saying his ultimate goal is to achieve complete nuclear dismantlement or denuclearization.
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un surprised the world by agreed to hold an inter-Korean summit in late April at the truce village of Panmunjom in the middle of the demilitarized zone which has split the Korean peninsula since the 1950-53 Korean War.
At talks on Tuesday with a South Korean delegation, Kim expressed North Korea's willingness to talk with the United States and put denuclearization on the table as well, according to Moon's top security adviser Chung Eui-yong. Pyongyang also offered to suspend nuclear and ballistic missile tests as long as its dialogue with Washington is in progress.
Kim's peace overture fueled expectations on a possible inter-Korean detente, but critics say it could be a ploy to earn time or mitigate biting U.S.-led international sanctions. Opposition politicians argued Seoul may end up allowing Pyongyang to be recognized as a nuclear power.
However, Moon stressed that North Korea would be rewarded for its latest peace offensive that began with the dispatch of athletes, cheerleaders, an art troupe and high-level delegations to South Korea's first Winter Olympics.
"There is no plan to ease sanctions for the sake of a summit or dialogue," Moon said Wednesday in a lunch with opposition and ruling party leaders at his office.
South Korean cannot settle for nonproliferation or a nuclear freeze without consent from Washington, he said, adding South Korea and its allies can map out a gradual road map if the quick dismantlement of North Korea's nuclear program is difficult.
"We seem to have reached a crucial point in peace and denuclearization of the Korean peninsula. I think we cannot be optimistic because it is a start now," Moon was quoted as saying.
reporter
Lim Chang-won
cwlim34@ajunews.com
