President Moon will act as go-between at summit in Pyongyang

By Lim Chang-won Posted : September 17, 2018, 15:08 Updated : September 17, 2018, 15:08

[Courtesy of the presidential Blue House ]


SEOUL -- South Korean President Moon Jae-in will act as a bridge between North Korea and the United States as the inter-Korean summit this week will be dominated by a stringent topic on how to spur denuclearization, his top aide said Monday.

Moon's role as an intermediary is crucial during his three-day visit to North Korea that will include two rounds of talks with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un Tuesday and Wednesday, Im Jong-seok, the chief presidential aide, told reporters.

U.S. President Donald Trump wants Moon to act as "chief negotiator" and Kim has similar expectations, Im said, adding denuclearization would heavily weigh on the two leaders during their third summit in Pyongyang.

"Denuclearization has become a very important agenda," Im said, adding the South Korean side is "very careful" and cannot predict any specific progress on denuclearization.

In April, the two Koreas agreed to work on ending the status of war, stop all hostile acts against each other and replace a fragile armistice signed at the end of the 1950-53 Korean War with a lasting peace regime. Two months later, U.S. and North Korean leaders agreed to forge a lasting peace regime in return for Pyongyang's complete denuclearization.

However, there has been slow progress in denuclearization. Washington wants quick and tangible steps while Pyongyang insists on a gradual and synchronous approach.

Kim has urged the international community to take "goodwill in good faith" and expressed frustration at lingering doubts about his preemptive steps to suspend missile and nuclear tests and shut down a nuclear test site, according to South Korean officials who visited Pyongyang earlier this month to arrange the summit.

Kim was quoted as saying he would pursue denuclearization more actively, based on "simultaneous actions and principles", and is ready to improve relations between Pyongyang and Washington, the Cold War enemies for nearly seven decades, by achieving denuclearization by January 2021.

At this week's summit, Im ruled out an agreement that would override the so-called Panmunjom Declaration signed in April. "First of all, the most important thing in the development of inter-Korean relations is the Panmunjom Declaration, and we will do our best to advance the agreed contents rather than to discuss new ones."

"There are clear boundaries between what we can and can not do because we have very strict international sanctions," the chief secretary said, adding Moon and Kim would pursue a comprehensive agreement to ease military tensions and establish a practical peace system.

"In fact, we hope that there will be meaningful agreement to fundamentally eliminate the danger of armed conflict" as it can accelerate denuclearization, Im said. Signing a peace treaty has been a key subject at inter-Korean talks because North Korea wants a non-aggression accord with the U.S. to ensure the security of its regime.

Moon's entourage is composed of 14 official delegates and 52 selected people from political, business and other fields. Business leaders who will accompany Moon include Samsung Group's virtual head Jay Y. Lee, SK Group chairman Chey Tae-won, LG Group chairman Koo Kwang-mo, Hyundai Motor vice president Kim Yong-hwan and Posco chairman Choi Jeong-woo.



 
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