Moon to hold talks with Xi, Putin in Osaka
In this file photo taken on Sept. 24, 2018, U.S. President Donald Trump, right, and South Korean President Moon Jae-in shake hands after signing a trade agreement at a bilateral meeting in New York, a day before the start of the General Debate of the 73rd session of the General Assembly. AFP-Yonhap
President Moon Jae-in will relaunch his bilateral and multilateral summit diplomacy this week as he takes part in a Group of 20 (G-20) summit in Japan amid strenuous efforts to help Washington-Pyongyang talks resume at an early date.
He plans to leave for Osaka, the G-20 venue, on Thursday afternoon. Soon after arrival, he will hold bilateral talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping, according to Cheong Wa Dae, the presidential office here.
It will be their first meeting in seven months. They met each other on the sidelines of the annual Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) regional summit in Papua New Guinea last November.
In the upcoming talks, Moon is expected to be briefed on the results of Xi's trip to Pyongyang last week, where Xi had talks with North Korea's leader Kim Jong-un.
In a joint written interview with Yonhap News Agency and six other global news agencies Wednesday, Moon expressed hope that Xi's North Korea visit would be a "turning point that can help resume dialogues between the two Koreas and between North Korea and the United States."
He added, "At the upcoming G-20 summit, I will be able to meet with President Xi in person and hear about the results of his visit to the North."
Following a meeting with Xi in Osaka, Moon will meet with a group of ethnic Koreans there.
He will then join the two-day G-20 session, set to open Friday, which Cheong Wa Dae officials describe as a chance to publicize South Korea's peace initiative and support for dealing with pending global issues.
This year's G-20 is to address such affairs as the global economy, trade, investment, combating inequality and an innovative, inclusive world vision, as well as climate change, the environment and energy.
Moon is also scheduled to have one-on-one talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin on the fringes of the G-20, as well as Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Indonesian President Joko Widodo, Argentina's President Mauricio Macri and Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte.
In the Moon-Putin talks, in particular, the Korea peace process will apparently be high on the agenda. (Yonhap)