Bolton: "3rd North Korea-US Summit Pushed by President Moon"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy New York=Correspondent Baek Jong-min] Former White House National Security Council (NSC) advisor John Bolton claimed that President Moon Jae-in pushed for a third North Korea-US summit last year.

In his memoir "The Room Where It Happened," released on the 21st ahead of its publication on the 23rd (local time), Bolton stated, "President Moon said he would propose a third North Korea-US summit at the South Korea-US summit held in Washington DC in April last year."

According to his memoir, during the summit with US President Donald Trump on April 11 last year, President Moon mentioned, "After returning to Korea, I will propose a third summit between June 12 and 27." This indicates that the South Korean government had been focusing on keeping the North Korea-US summit alive following the 'Hanoi No Deal' at the end of February last year.

President Trump reportedly responded that the date was fine but that an agreement with North Korea must be reached beforehand.

Bolton conveyed that President Moon continued to express the view that high-level discussions were necessary since North Korean working-level diplomats did not have the discretion regarding nuclear issues.

President Trump said, "Mike Pompeo, Secretary of State, and I will work on this," Bolton added.

Bolton also revealed that Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe visited Washington DC on the 26th of the same month, after President Moon's visit, and expressed views almost opposite to those of President Moon. Regarding the 'Hanoi No Deal,' Abe agreed that the outcome was very positive and praised President Trump as the only person who could walk away from the negotiating table.

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