Moon to meet Xi to discuss easing of North Korea sanctions

By Lee Min-hyung

President Moon Jae-in and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping will hold a summit Saturday in Papua New Guinea, Cheong Wa Dae said Friday.

During the meeting, which will take place on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit, the two leaders are expected to discuss easing sanctions on North Korea, and ways to revitalize the stalled denuclearization talks between Pyongyang and Washington.

Moon is expected to ask for the Chinese leader to play a more active role in the denuclearization of the North and help bring lasting peace to the Korean Peninsula.

In particular, Moon is likely to underline the need for China to help get the heavy sanctions imposed on the reclusive regime eased.

On a recent European tour, President Moon asked for European leaders to facilitate the North's denuclearization by lifting sanctions, as the North had in recent months taken concrete steps to fulfill its pledge for denuclearization.

The Moon-Xi meeting comes at a critical time as Washington and Pyongyang discuss holding a second summit between North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and U.S. President Donald Trump early next year. At a recent inter-Korean summit, Kim promised to visit South Korea sometime this year.

Expectations are that such diplomatic events will serve to end the ongoing stalled denuclearization talks between Washington and Pyongyang.

Before the second summit between Washington and Pyongyang, President Moon hopes to encourage more countries to recognize the North's sincerity in its pledge for denuclearization.

Moon Chung-in, a presidential adviser for national security, recently said Xi needs to ask Trump to consider easing sanctions on North Korea in response to Kim's continued pledge and actions for complete denuclearization.

“The North Korean leader pledged to scrap nuclear weapons and we should take steps accordingly,” he said in a recent forum in Beijing. “Remaining pessimistic over the sincerity of his pledge for denuclearization is no good for resolving the North's nuclear issues.”

In the past, North Korea did not take any actions on denuclearization, but according to him, things have changed.

“North Korea destroyed its Punggye-ri nuclear test site and some missile facilities. Xi may have felt Kim's strong determination for denuclearization during recent meetings with him,” said the presidential adviser.

On Saturday, President Moon also plans to hold a summit with Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison and Papua New Guinea Prime Minister Peter O'Neill.

In a series of leadership meetings, President Moon will also call for the need to reduce the economic gaps between countries.

The President will also meet with businesspeople there by participating in the APEC Business Advisory Council (ABAC) Dialogue. Park Yong-maan, chairman of the Korea Chamber of Commerce & Industry, will also participate in the event as he is a member of ABAC.

The President left for Singapore, Tuesday, for the ASEAN summit. Before leaving the city-state Friday, Moon said in a Facebook post that he was deeply moved by the Southeast Asian leaders' strong support for peace on the peninsula.

“The Southeast Asian leaders showed their willingness for co-prosperity during the ASEAN summit,” Moon said. “We discussed not just economic partnerships, but ways to make our lives more valuable. On top of that, we also agreed to join hands to deal with global issues with sincerity, such as climate and disaster.”