ED Crucial week

Moon should use summits for advancing denuclearization

This week will be a crucial time for President Moon Jae-in as he meets with leaders of countries that are crucial to the security situation on the Korean Peninsula.

Cheong Wa Dae announced June 21 that President Moon will hold summits with Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin during the G20 summit in Osaka, Japan, to be held June 28 and 29. Moon will visit Japan starting Thursday to participate in the G20 summit where he will also meet with leaders from Canada and Indonesia. In addition, Moon will be getting together with U.S. President Donald Trump, who will be visiting Korea following the G20.

Moon's meeting with the Chinese leader is drawing much attention as Xi has just completed a rare state visit to North Korea. Cheong Wa Dae has assessed Xi's visit as an occasion to contribute to peace and security in Northeast Asia as well as an impetus to restart denuclearization negotiations.

During the Pyongyang visit, Xi was given a huge welcome which showed the special relationship of the two countries. According to North Korea's state broadcaster, Xi said that China will play an active and constructive role in realizing the denuclearization of the peninsula and long-term security of the region.

The strong North Korea-China solidarity in the negotiation process brings more complexities for South Korea and President Moon, who has been criticized for not handling diplomacy with China very well. The bond between Pyongyang and Beijing underlines the need for Seoul and Washington to communicate more closely.

The escalating U.S.-China feud over trade and other issues has emerged as one of the toughest diplomatic challenges for South Korea. President Moon has faced continuous criticisms that the Korea-U.S. alliance has been weakened during his presidency due to his excessive focus on improving inter-Korean relations despite insufficient progress in North Korea's denuclearization measures.

The U.S. has reaffirmed the importance of maintaining a pressure campaign of sanctions on North Korea, which is seen as one of the reasons that led to the collapse of the second summit between Trump and Kim.

Fortunately, there have been some positive signs that Kim may be ready to restart negotiations with Trump. Pyongyang's state media reported Sunday that Kim expressed his satisfaction with a letter from Trump, saying it contained “interesting content that will be considered deeply.” The letter diplomacy shows that the two leaders still respect each other as negotiation partners despite their differences.

On the occasion of the G20 and summits with global leaders, Moon should do all he can to revive the momentum for the stalled peace process. Kim should stay on the right course for lasting peace and approach the denuclearization negotiations with a sincere commitment.