Singapore agreement will end cold war, South Korea’s president Moon Jae-in says
Moon has made great efforts playing the role of mediator to bring the cold war foes back to dialogue
South Korean President Moon Jae-in on Tuesday hailed the outcome of the summit between US President Trump and the North’s leader Kim Jong-un as a “historic event” that ended the last cold war conflict.
“I offer my heartfelt congratulations and welcome the success of the historic North Korea-United States summit”, Moon said in a statement.
“The June 12 Sentosa Agreement will be recorded as a historic event that has helped break down the last remaining cold war legacy on Earth.”
Trump sounded triumphant following his meeting with Kim, expressing confidence the North Korean leader was serious about abandoning his nuclear programme and transforming his country from an isolated rogue regime to a respected member of the world community.
But Trump provided few specifics about what steps Kim would take to back up his promise to denuclearise his country and how the United States would verify that North Korea was keeping its pledge to get rid of its nuclear weapons, saying that would be worked out in future talks.
Trump called the exercises “very provocative” and “inappropriate” in light of the optimistic opening he sees with North Korea.
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Ending the exercises would also save money, Trump said.
Trump’s announcement came as a surprise to the South Korean government.
“At this point, we need to know President Trump’s exact meaning or intentions,” according to a statement released by Moon’s office.
“However we think that it is crucial to pursue various solutions for better dialogue.”
At the Shangri La defence dialogue in Singapore earlier this month, South Korea’s defence minister Song Young-moo said that the American military’s activities in South Korea was “a separate issue from North Korea’s nuclear issue”.
Moon has made great efforts playing the role of mediator to bring the cold war foes back to dialogue. Kim twice meet Moon and also made two trips to China to meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping.
Agence France-Presse, Associated Press, The Washington Post, Bloomberg
