President Moon: "More Optimism for the Success of North Korea-US Talks"

On the 14th, citizens are watching the live broadcast of President Moon Jae-in's New Year's press conference in the waiting room of Seoul Station, Yongsan-gu, Seoul. Photo by Hyunmin Kim kimhyun81@

President Moon Jae-in said on the 14th, "I want to place more hope on the possibility of success in North Korea-US talks."

At the New Year's press conference held at the Blue House State Guest House that day, President Moon stated, "North Korea has not closed the door to dialogue even after the year-end deadline."

President Moon also highly evaluated the will of US President Donald Trump. He said, "Currently, the US is in a complicated situation due to domestic political circumstances such as the election season and external factors like the Iran issue," adding, "However, President Trump sent a birthday congratulatory message to Chairman Kim Jong-un."

President Moon said, "This is a message that President Trump regards North Korea as an important diplomatic partner," and "I highly appreciate that he showed his willingness to maintain personal ties between the leaders and continue the dialogue."

However, President Moon predicted that there is not much time left for North Korea-US talks. He said, "Once the US fully enters the election season, it may not be easy to secure time for North Korea-US talks," and added, "I do not think there is much time left between North Korea and the US."

President Moon emphasized, "Although the dialogue has not been cut off, it is still not progressing," and "It is necessary for North Korea and the US to engage in talks as soon as possible."

Furthermore, President Moon reiterated his will to promote North Korea-US talks through progress in inter-Korean relations. He said, "We should not only focus on North Korea-US talks, but since those talks are at an impasse, we need to find various practical measures that can be taken between the two Koreas at this point and develop them as much as possible." He continued, "This will not only be good for inter-Korean relations themselves but will also lead to a virtuous cycle that positively affects North Korea-US talks."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.