Settings

ⓕ font-size

  • -2
  • -1
  • 0
  • +1
  • +2

Moon's mission in New York: 'Get nuke talks restarted'

  • Facebook share button
  • Twitter share button
  • Kakao share button
  • Mail share button
  • Link share button
In this May 22, 2018, file photo, U.S. President Donald Trump, left, meets with South Korean President Moon Jae-In in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, as national security adviser John Bolton, right, watches. Trump says he fired national security adviser John Bolton, says they 'disagreed strongly' on many issues. AP-Yonhap
In this May 22, 2018, file photo, U.S. President Donald Trump, left, meets with South Korean President Moon Jae-In in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, as national security adviser John Bolton, right, watches. Trump says he fired national security adviser John Bolton, says they 'disagreed strongly' on many issues. AP-Yonhap

By Kim Yoo-chul

President Moon Jae-in will face his biggest challenge in New York next week in his signature "engagement-centric" North Korean policy, as he will be tasked with persuading U.S. President Donald Trump and leaders of allied countries for a "new approach" to restart nuclear disarmament talks with Pyongyang.

Cheong Wa Dae spokeswoman Ko Min-jung said Moon will fly to New York Sept. 22 to attend this year's United Nations General Assembly meeting.

During his stay, the President plans to hold a meeting with Trump, while preparatory work is underway for a possible trilateral summit with Trump and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, presidential aides said Sunday.

Cheong Wa Dae will announce the key discussion points for Moon and Trump during their upcoming summit after it confers with the White House.

Exploring ways to strengthen trilateral cooperation between Washington, Seoul and Tokyo will be an issue at the bilateral and possible trilateral talks as optimism has risen on rebooting talks with Pyongyang over denuclearization.

"Trump will tell Moon about the importance of maintaining the trilateral military alliance of Washington, Seoul and Tokyo in terms of managing the North Korean nuclear issue. Also, the leaders could agree on the necessity of having a new approach toward the North to move the denuclearization process forward visibly and substantially," a Cheong Wa Dae official said.

South Korea's recent decision to pull out of an intelligence sharing-pact with Japan has alarmed the United States about the state of its alliances in Asia. Top Washington officials delivered a rare public rebuke to Seoul, saying the termination of the General Security of Military Information Agreement (GSOMIA) would jeopardize U.S. security cooperation in Asia. In an apparent protest about the public criticism by Washington, the government summoned U.S. Ambassador to South Korea Harry Harris.

Conditions are favorable for Trump and Moon to pursue high level coordination in North Korean policy after Trump fired National Security Adviser John Bolton, a longtime North Korea hawk and proponent of taking a hardline approach with the Kim regime. The U.S. president also recently reiterated that he wasn't contemplating regime change in North Korea.

Remarks by North Korea's Deputy Foreign Minister Choe Son-hui that Pyongyang was "ready to have comprehensive talks" with the United States later this month could be seen as giving Trump ammunition to tout foreign affairs achievements ahead of next year's presidential election.

For Moon, winning backing or an agreement from the U.S. and other nations on sanctions waivers for the North could help him surmount domestic challenges which mostly stem from his appointment of a controversial law professor Cho Kuk as justice minister.

"President Moon will hold a meeting with U.N. Secretary of General Antonio Guterres on the sidelines of his attendance at the U.N. General Assembly," Ko said.

As the President wants to promote a "peace economy" through improving inter-Korean ties, he may seek to persuade Trump to agree to a phased drawdown of North Korea's nuclear program in return for staggered economic benefits.

"With South Korea's economy struggling under the U.S.-China trade war and Tokyo's retaliation against Seoul's Supreme Court rulings, Moon has proposed possible market integration with North Korea. But speaking of such a peace economy seems premature while the North aggressively advances its missile capabilities, rejects humanitarian assistance from Seoul and remains under international sanctions for its lack of denuclearization," said Leif-Eric Easley, a professor of international studies at Ewha Womans University.

Negotiations between Washington and Pyongyang have been mostly stalled since their failed summit in Hanoi in February. Beginning in May, Pyongyang conducted a series of missile and rocket tests.

A third surprise meeting between Trump and Kim at the border village of Panmunjeom in the Demilitarized Zone in June, produced a pledge by both to restart working-level talks, however, no concrete progress has been made.

"Possibly in the hopes of holding a fourth summit, Trump and Kim have avoided trading direct insults," Catherine Killough, an analyst at the Arms Control Association, said. Trump said he was hoping to meet the North Korean leader this year. In April, Kim set a year-end deadline for Washington to show more flexibility in the nuclear disarmament talks.



Kim Yoo-chul yckim@koreatimes.co.kr


X
CLOSE

Top 10 Stories

go top LETTER