[Yonhap Photo]
SEOUL -- On the eve of a historic summit in Singapore, South Korean President Moon Jae-in called Monday for a "bold" decision by U.S. and North Korean leaders, saying one or two meetings between them are not enough to end deep-rooted hostilities.
"We are now about to see a century of encounter between the two leaders. I hope that will be a historical milestone from war to peace," Moon told a meeting of top aides, as North Korean and U.S. officials are locked in tough negotiations in Singapore to come up with a draft agreement.
Hoping that U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un would reach "a great deal" on the settlement of ending hostilities and denuclearize the Korean peninsula, Moon urged the two leaders to make a "bold" decision.
Moon warned that deep-rooted hostilities and the nuclear issue cannot be solved "at once by one summit." "Even after the two leaders have set the tone, it takes a long and unpredictable process, probably one and two years or more for a complete settlement. We need a long breath to successfully lead this process."
In Singapore, Ambassador Sung Kim, the State Department's top Korea expert, met Choe Son-hui, the North's vice foreign minister, at the Ritz Carlton hotel to come up with a draft agreement. The two have held several rounds of talks at the truce village of Panmunjom before flying to Singapore.
U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said that U.S. and North Korean officials held "substantive" talks to hammer out the details of a nuclear agreement. "Substantive and detailed meetings in #Singapore today as Ambassador Kim meets with #DPRK @StateDept," Pompeo tweeted.
reporter
Lim Chang-won
cwlim34@ajunews.com
