'Kim-Trump summit will determine S. Korea's fate'

National Assembly Speaker Moon Hee-sang, center, arrives at Incheon International Airport, Sunday, after wrapping up an eight-day visit to the U.S. with floor leaders of the ruling and opposition parties. Yonhap

Assembly leaders return from US visit

By Yi Whan-woo

The second summit between U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un in Hanoi, Vietnam, will have a huge effect on South Korea's fate, according to National Assembly Speaker Moon Hee-sang.

He was interviewed on Fox 11 TV in Los Angeles, Friday (local time), before he ended his eight-day U.S. visit with the leaders of South Korea's ruling and opposition parties. The delegation returned home on Sunday.

“I understand there is a level of skepticism with regards to North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and changes the second summit will bring,” Moon said.

The tour included meetings in Washington, D.C., with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Rep. Eliot Engel, House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, Deputy Secretary of State John Sullivan, U.S. Special Representative for North Korea Stephen Biegun and other U.S. Congress members and State Department officials.

“We really wanted them to understand that the second meeting is of great importance to the Korean people and it will determine the fate of our country,” he said.

Moon added that, although Pelosi and other members of Congress were not optimistic about the Hanoi meeting, they were “now somewhat hopeful” after they understood Seoul's view.

He said there was “one united front regarding the importance of the South Korea-U.S. alliance and the U.S.-South Korea relationship,” even though political parties in South Korea and the U.S. were divided over the summit.

“And I think that was the bipartisan view of all the (U.S. congressional) leaders we met and all the (parliamentary) leaders who have come with me. I think that was really a good outcome of our visit,” he said.

Pelosi, at her meeting with the South Korean delegation, said she did not believe North Korea intended to denuclearize and that Pyongyang's goal was to weaken the South's military readiness.

She was also quoted as saying that the first summit on June 12 in Singapore brought no real results.

According to Moon, Pelosi was also pessimistic about whether Trump could successfully lead the upcoming summit. He added he had tried to ease her concerns.

Moon said he believed the Hanoi summit would be “successful,” claiming Trump understood the situation well.

About Kim, Moon said the North Korean leader could not be trusted 100 percent considering the lingering distrust toward his regime.

Moon urged Kim to choose between nuclear weapons and the survival of his people.

The Assembly speaker underscored the goal of the second summit would be to achieve an enduring peace on the Korean Peninsula and to push forward North Korea's denuclearization.

“The U.S. and South Korea should join forces to normalize North Korea,” he said. “This will also benefit other relevant countries.”