'Moon will ask Trump to meet Kim Jong-un early'
President Moon Jae-in and first lady Kim Jung-sook arrive at Ministro Pistarini International Airport for the G20 summit in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Thursday (KST). AP-Yonhap
By Kim Yoo-chul
By Kim Yoo-chul
BUENOS AIRES ― President Moon Jae-in plans to ask U.S. President Donald Trump to meet with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un as early as possible, a presidential aide said Friday.
Finding a breakthrough to the stalled denuclearization talks between Washington and Pyongyang will be the main topic at Moon's summit with Trump in the Argentine capital early Saturday (KST). Cheong Wa Dae and White House officials said only translators could be allowed to attend the meeting.
“Moon plans to deliver his hopes at the upcoming meeting with Trump for an early second summit between the U.S. and North Korea to advance the denuclearization process of the North,” the aide told The Korea Times, asking not to be named.
White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders told reporters aboard Air Force One that Trump's meeting with Moon had been changed to “pull-asides,” meaning Trump will meet “informally, not formally” with him on the sidelines of the G20 summit.
Moon and first lady Kim Jung-sook arrived in the Argentine capital, Thursday, to participate in meetings with leaders from the advanced economies.
U.S. President Donald Trump talks to reporters with first lady Melania Trump as they leave the White House in Washington, D.C., Friday, (KST) to travel to the G20 summit in Argentina. Reuters-Yonhap
The Trump administration is pushing hard for a second summit between Trump and Kim by “early 2019,” hoping to provide momentum to the stalled denuclearization talks that have so far produced few tangible results since the two leaders' June meeting in Singapore.
Moon, who has claimed the role of “mediator and facilitator” on North Korean issues, is facing pressure to keep the denuclearization talks going after a planned meeting between U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and his North Korean counterpart Kim Yong-chol over the specifics of a second Trump-Kim summit was called off by the North because of a “matter of scheduling.”
It remains to be seen whether Moon will deliver any handwritten messages that he may have received from Kim to Trump. Washington wants Pyongyang to present details in achieving final, fully verified denuclearization (FFVD).
An early second summit between Trump and Kim is crucial for several inter-Korean economic projects that have been put on hold due to growing fears that fast-developing inter-Korean relations may get out of step with Washington.
Moon is moving quickly to improve inter-Korean relations. But his engagement-focused North Korean policy is in jeopardy due to little progress despite concerted efforts in bringing a lasting peace to the Korean Peninsula.
His approval rating in South Korea this week fell below 50 percent for the first time since he took office in May last year. A survey showed support for Moon was down 3.2 percentage points over the week to 48.8 percent.
The continued fall in his approval rating coincides with worsening economic indicators and a widening income gap between the haves and have-nots.
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un shakes hands with South Korean President Moon Jae-in at the Military Demarcation Line (MDL) that divides the two countries ahead of their summit at the truce village of Panmunjeom in April this year. AFP-Yonhap
The aide said there are working-level discussions between the Koreas on Kim's trip to Seoul so that it will happen before the end of this year, as Kim earlier promised.
South Korea hopes Kim's visit, which was conceived in Pyongyang in September during Moon's first trip to the North Korean capital, will serve as a “major dramatic turning point” in relations between the Koreas.
“At the summit, Moon also plans to tell Trump why Kim's visit matters in terms of pushing the denuclearization talks forward.”