SEOUL, February 10. /TASS/. Washington is interested in diplomatic contacts with Pyongyang and holding another summit between the United States and North Korea is a matter of time, South Korean President Moon Jae-In said in an interview with world’s leading news agencies, including TASS, on Thursday.
"Since dialogue is the only way of resolving problems, I expect that a meeting between US President Joe Biden and [North Korean] Chairman Kim Jong-un will eventually take place, it is just a matter of time. And in this case, I hope that unlike the Hanoi summit, significant progress will be made on the issues concerning the denuclearization of the Korean peninsula, building a system of peace and normalizing relations between the US and North Korea," the South Korean leader said, admitting that talks between Washington and Pyongyang have not yet been launched. He added that the parties should seek new creative approaches and stick to diplomatic means.
Seoul is focused on resuming this dialogue between Washington and Pyongyang, a multilateral format is more likely after achieving progress in this direction. "Even though [South Korea’s] diplomatic efforts are focused on cooperation with the US and resuming dialogue between the US and North Korea, if this dialogue resumes and progress is made, it would be possible to consider the proposals on holding multilateral consultations," the South Korean president noted.
"In order to achieve a solution to the Korean peninsula’s problem, our government has closely worked with the US, while maintaining close contacts with China, Russia, Japan and other neighboring countries, and cooperating with them," Moon Jae-In said.
"[Following the 2019 Trump-Kim summit in Hanoi], US-North Korean relations and intra-Korean relations that were developing well before it, hit a dead end. It is a rather complex task to build a new system of peaceful relations, rejecting animosity and confrontation that have been observed for more than 70 years. Yet, we shouldn’t refuse to do so completely," the South Korean leader explained.
Seoul is ready to discuss arranging a new summit with Pyongyang without any preconditions. "I don’t think that I have any preconditions for holding a summit," Moon Jae-In noted. "If there is an intention for dialogue, then it won’t matter if the meeting is face-to-face or via a video link. We can conduct it the way the North wants to," he added.
The South Korean leader rejected the assessments that his North Korea policy turned out to be a failure due to the recent missile launches, noting that it was precisely his diplomatic efforts that ensured peace and stability on the peninsula. He reiterated that in 2017, North Korea conducted a number of missile launches and a nuclear test resulting in the Korean peninsula being "in a crisis situation on the brink of war." However, efforts were made to organize an intra-Korean summit and a meeting between the US and North Korean leaders. "As a result, the threat of war subsided and peace and security have been ensured ever since," Moon Jae-In said, noting that "this in itself is a significant outcome."
"However, if the North violates the moratorium [on nuclear and intercontinental ballistic missile tests], the Korean peninsula may find itself in the situation that we were in five years ago. The political leaders of all interested countries should play their part in preventing such a crisis with the help of dialogue and diplomacy," the South Korean leader concluded.