SINGAPORE (AP) - South Korean President Moon Jae[1]-in on Friday urged U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un to try harder to achieve a breakthrough in their nuclear negotiations.
Moon[2] said at a forum in Singapore that Trump and Kim[3] would “face the stern judgment of the international community” if their promises on denuclearization weren’t kept.
Singapore was the host of a historic summit between Trump and Kim[4] last month when they agreed to wotk toward the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula, without describing when and how it would occur.
Follow-up talks between U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and North Korean senior officials have got off to a rocky start with Pyongyang accusing Washington of making “unilateral and gangster-like” demands.
Pyongyang for decades has been pushing a concept of “denuclearization” that bears no resemblance to the American definition, vowing to pursue nuclear development unless Washington removes its 28,500 troops from South Korea[5] and the nuclear umbrella defending South Korea[6] and Japan.
Despite Kim[7]’s diplomatic onslaught in recent months, there are lingering doubts on whether he would ever agree to fully relinquish his nukes, which he may see as a stronger guarantee of survival than whatever security assurance the United States could offer.
Moon, who has met with Kim[8] twice this year and lobbied hard for the summit between Trump and Kim[9], said he remains optimistic that Washington and Pyongyang would be able to strike a deal.
“Both leaders have made a promise in front of the international community, so while there could be twists and turns during the working-level negotiations, I think the leaders ultimately will be able to keep their promise,” Moon[10] said. “If the leaders don’t keep the promise they directly made in front of the international community, they would face the stern judgment of the international community.”
Moon[11] said his view is that Washington and Pyongyang have reached a broad agreement where North Korea[12] completes its nuclear disarmament in exchange for the United States guaranteeing the country’s security and ending hostility in mutual relations....
“During the working-level negotiations, there could be debates on whether the chicken or egg should come first, and the countries could also go through a number of difficult phases,” Moon[13] said.Moon[14], the son of North Korean war refugees, has vowed to build on the legacies of liberal predecessors Kim Dae-jung and Roh Moo-hyun and their so-called “Sunshine Policy,” which Moon[15] had a hand in building. Seoul’s economic inducements resulted in a temporary rapprochement, and two summits with the North in 2000 and 2007 that involved then-North Korean leader Kim Jong-il. Critics say it gave the North a lifeline as it pursued its nuclear dreams.___