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South Korean president says he, Putin share common goal of peace, denuclearization

Moon Jae-in noted that as soon as the peaceful settlement is ensured on the Korean Peninsula the issue may be discussed on "establishing a multilateral mechanism of maintaining security" in the region

SEOUL, June 20. /TASS/. South Korean President Moon Jae-in believes that he and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin share the common objective of peace and denuclearization on the Korean Peninsula.

"President Putin and I share the common goal of establishing peace and achieving denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula. This will certainly lead to the enhanced economic development, and not only of the two Koreas," the South Korean leader said in his exclusive interview to TASS First Deputy Director-General Mikhail Gusman for TASS, government daily Rossiyskaya Gazeta and Rossiya-24 TV ahead of his state visit to Russia beginning on Thursday.

He said that Russia may join this process in the future.

Moon Jae-in noted that as soon as the peaceful settlement is ensured on the Korean Peninsula the issue may be discussed on "establishing a multilateral mechanism of maintaining security" in the region.

"We should be seeking this. I can confirm that Putin and I have a common goal and a shared vision and we are seeking this together," the South Korean leader said, noting that Russia has offered assistance here by supporting and implementing the UN Security Council’s sanctions against North Korea.

The South Korean leader also said he and Putin have a shared vision on the prospects of building peace and achieving prosperity on the Eurasian continent.

"President [Putin] pursues his policy on developing Russia’s Far Eastern Region and Siberia, and my policy is aimed at developing cooperation with eastern countries, including with Russia. These policies have much in common. Russia is a very important partner for Korea for joint development in the future," he said.

Amid deterioration on the Korean Peninsula Russia jointly with China put forward a "dual freeze" initiative in July 2017. Under this plan, Pyongyang should suspend missile launches, while Washington and Seoul will not conduct military exercises.