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| South Korea's National Assembly Speaker Moon Hee-sang, center left, smiles with U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, center right, at the end of their meeting in Washington, D.C., on Feb. 13 (KST). Yonhap |
By Kim Yoo-chul
A group of South Korean parliamentary leaders led by National Assembly Speaker Moon Hee-sang discussed with U.S. congressional leaders how to deal with North Korean denuclearization.
Speaking to South Korean reporters in Washington, D.C., Wednesday (KST), after meetings with U.S. congressional leaders, Moon said the sides reaffirmed the ironclad alliance and pledged to maintain close coordination to ensure the final, fully verified denuclearization of North Korea.
"The results of our meetings with senior U.S. congressional leaders including House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and U.S. Deputy Secretary of State John Sullivan were substantial in terms of driving the ongoing diplomatic process forward without meddling," Moon said.
The speaker dubbed the upcoming summit between U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un to be held later this month in Hanoi, Vietnam, as a "great opportunity that only arrives once in a thousand years" for a permanent peace on the peninsula.
Specifically, Moon said his U.S. counterpart Pelosi told him that the first Trump-Kim summit in Singapore failed to produce "visible outcomes."
Other South Korean parliamentary leaders who also attended the Moon-Pelosi meeting had "candid discussions" regarding growing skepticism from Democrats in the House chamber over the North Korean leader's commitment toward the regime's complete denuclearization, according to Moon.
The U.S. intelligence community has long been skeptical of North Korea and long been skeptical that Pyongyang would ever be willing to abandon its nuclear program because the intelligence community assesses that the North believes those nuclear weapons are an "essential deterrent."
Beyond the North Korean issue, Pelosi asked Japan to apply more sincere steps to heal the wounds of Korean women forced to work in military brothels during the 1910-45 Japanese occupation.
"Pelosi showed keen interest in the comfort women issue and she fully acknowledged anger by South Koreans that Tokyo was too passive in properly atoning for specific wrongdoings. She told me that she is one of the strongest backers in supporting efforts to resolve the comfort women issue and added she is ready to provide help, if necessary," Moon said.
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| South Korea's National Assembly Speaker Moon Hee-sang, right, shakes hands with House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy at the start of their meeting in Washington, D.C., on Feb. 13 (KST). Yonhap |
In a separate meeting with House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, Moon said a withdrawal of U.S. troops from South Korea "will not happen" regardless of the peace process on the peninsula.
In the meantime, U.S. special representative for North Korea Stephen Biegun told the South Korean delegation that he has reached a "basic framework of agreement" with North Korea, adding an agreement was also reached on the main topics of the upcoming second summit between Trump and Kim.
Key figures included in the delegation included ruling Democratic Party of Korea chief Lee Hae-chan, the country's main opposition Liberty Korea Party head Na Kyung-won, minor opposition Party for Democracy and Peace head Chung Dong-young and progressive Justice Party Chairwoman Lee Jeong-mi.
