Moon, Xi agree denuclearizing N. Korea 'common goal' in first phone talks
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President Moon Jae-in
By Park Si-soo
South Korea’s newly elected President Moon Jae-in and Chinese leader Xi Jinping agreed Thursday that denuclearizing North Korea is a “common goal” for the two countries, Cheong Wa Dae said.
In their first phone conversation that lasted 40 minutes, the two leaders “agreed that denuclearizing the Korean Peninsula is the two countries' common goal,” presidential spokesman Yoon Young-chan told reporters.
The two agreed to hold a summit “in the near future,” the spokesman said.
He said Xi had explained to Moon China's position on Korea’s deployment of the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) anti-missile system. But he did not elaborate.
The phone talks came a day after Moon had his first phone talks with U.S. President Donald Trump, during which they confirmed the strong South Korea-U.S. alliance and discussed the North Korea crisis. Trump invited Moon to Washington for a summit.
Trump was the first head of a country to have phone talks with Moon after he was sworn in on Wednesday morning.