South Korean President Moon Jae-in said he saw no difference with North Korea on key concepts such as denuclearization, but cautioned that implementing any deal with Kim Jong Un would be difficult.
“As everybody worries, what specifically needs to done to meet these goals is not easy,” Moon told a gathering of media executives Thursday in Seoul. “We can’t repeat what was done in the past and should find new ways. We also need consensus among all relevant parties to call the summits a success.”
Moon said the North Koreans weren’t demanding things that the U.S. couldn’t accept as a condition of giving up their weapons, such as the withdrawal of American troops from South Korea. He said both sides should “eventually” declare an end to their 68-year war, which has left generations of Koreans divided by a militarized border.
“I don’t think the two Koreas have different definitions of ‘denuclearization.’ North Korea is committed to complete denuclearization,” Moon said. “All it’s asking for is to end hostile policies against North Korea and guarantee the safety of its regime.”
Moon was speaking just over a week before his expected April 27 meeting with Kim in the demilitarized zone, an encounter that may lay the ground for an unprecedented summit between the North Korean leader and U.S. President Donald Trump. CIA Director Mike Pompeo returned from a secret trip to Pyongyang earlier this month to prepare for the summit and U.S. officials are narrowing down potential sites.
Reference: Bloomberg
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