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| President Moon Jae-in, left, and United States President Donald Trump on Wednesday confirmed in a phone conversation the dialogue between South Korea and North Korea should lead to the communist state to join talks for its nuclear disarmament. / Korea Times file |
By Ko Dong-hwan
United States President Donald Trump welcomed South Korea and North Korea resumed talks this week, saying his country will also likely hold a dialogue with the North under the right timing and conditions.
Trump talked to South Korean President Moon Jae-in in a telephone conversation on Wednesday. The American president noted the possibility of inter-Korean dialogue that will lead to the start of the U.S.-North Korea negotiations on ending the communist state's nuclear armament.
The South Korean presidential office Cheong Wa Dae said, "After noting that South-North Korea talks may go beyond North Korea's participation in the PyeongChang Olympic Games and eventually lead to talks between the U.S. and North Korea for the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula, the two leaders agreed to closely consult on the direction of talks between the South and North Korea in the future."
The two leaders had a direct phone conversation for the second time in less than a week ― and the ninth since Moon's presidential inauguration in May 2017. The Wednesday talk came one day after the two Koreas resumed their dialogue in more than two years to discuss the North's participation in the PyeongChang Winter Olympic Games in the South in February.
Moon's chief press secretary Yoon Young-chan said Trump mentioned the U.S. remains open to talks with the North if it wishes to hold such dialogue at an appropriate time and under the right conditions.
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A similar press release issued by the White House said Moon and Trump "underscored the importance of continuing the maximum pressure campaign against North Korea." Trump's anti-North Korea campaign seeks to increase economic sanctions on the North's Kim Jong-un regime and deepen its isolation in the international community until it agrees for talks on its denuclearization.
Trump also dismissed Wall Street Journal's recent report that he may be considering military action against the North and requested Moon to inform the North that there will be no military action of any kind while the two Koreas continue to hold dialogue, according to Yoon.
Moon appreciated Trump for U.S. support, saying the resumption of inter-Korean dialogue may have been possible due to Trump's "strong principle and support," according to Yoon. The White House statement said Moon thanked Trump "for his influential leadership in making the talks possible."
Yoon said the two leaders agreed on the need to maintain a firm stance for the success of dialogue.
Trump also said in the latest phone conversation with Moon that he plans to send an official delegation, led by Vice President Mike Pence, to the PyeongChang Olympic Games.
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