South Korea's Moon says Trump deserves
'big' credit for North Korea talks
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[January 10, 2018]
By Christine Kim and Soyoung Kim
SEOUL (Reuters) - South Korean President
Moon Jae-in credited U.S. President Donald Trump on Wednesday for
helping to spark the first inter-Korean talks in more than two years,
and warned that Pyongyang would face stronger sanctions if provocations
continued.
The talks were held on Tuesday on the South Korean side of the
demilitarized zone, which has divided the two Koreas since 1953, after a
prolonged period of tension on the Korean peninsula over the North's
missile and nuclear programs.
North Korea ramped up its missile launches last year and also conducted
its sixth and most powerful nuclear test, resulting in some of the
strongest international sanctions yet.
The latest sanctions sought to drastically cut the North's access to
refined petroleum imports and earnings from workers abroad. Pyongyang
called the steps an "act of war".
Seoul and Pyongyang agreed at Tuesday's talks, the first since December
2015, to resolve all problems between them through dialogue and also to
revive military consultations so that accidental conflict could be
averted.
"I think President Trump deserves big credit for bringing about the
inter-Korean talks, I want to show my gratitude," Moon told reporters at
his New Year's news conference. "It could be a resulting work of the
U.S.-led sanctions and pressure."
Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un exchanged threats and insults
over the past year, raising fears of a new war on the peninsula. South
Korea and the United States are technically still at war with the North
after the 1950-53 Korean conflict ended with a truce, not a peace
treaty.
'BASIC STANCE'
Washington had raised concerns that the overtures by North Korea could
drive a wedge between it and Seoul, but Moon said his government did not
differ with the United States over how to respond to the threats posed
by Pyongyang.
"This initial round of talks is for the improvement of relations between
North and South Korea. Our task going forward is to draw North Korea to
talks aimed at the denuclearization of the North," Moon said. "(It's)
our basic stance that will never be given up."
Moon said he was open to meeting North Korea's leader at any time to
improve bilateral ties, and if the conditions were right and "certain
achievements are guaranteed".
"The purpose of it shouldn’t be talks for the sake of talks," he said.
However, Pyongyang said it would not discuss its nuclear weapons with
Seoul because they were only aimed at the United States, not its
"brethren" in South Korea, nor Russia or China, showing that a
diplomatic breakthrough remained far off.
North Korea's Rodong Sinmun newspaper said all problems would be
resolved through efforts by the Korean people alone.
"If the North and South abandon external forces and cooperate together,
we will be able to fully solve all problems to match our people's needs
and our joint prosperity," it said.
Washington still welcomed Tuesday's talks as a first step toward solving
the North Korean nuclear crisis. The U.S. State Department said it would
be interested in joining future talks, with the aim of denuclearizing
the North.
The United States, which still has 28,500 troops stationed in South
Korea, initially responded coolly to the idea of inter-Korean meetings.
Trump later called them "a good thing" and said he would be willing to
speak to Kim.
Lee Woo-young, a professor at the University of North Korean Studies in
Seoul, said it was wise of Moon to praise Trump, his sanctions and
pressure campaign.
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South Korean President Moon Jae-in delivers a speech during his New
Year news conference at the Presidential Blue House in Seoul, South
Korea, January 10, 2018. REUTERS/Kim Hong-Ji
"By doing that, he can help the U.S. build logic for moving toward
negotiations and turning around the state of affairs in the future,
so when they were ready to talk to the North, they can say the North
came out of isolation because the sanctions were effective."
The United States and Canada are set to host a conference of about
20 foreign ministers on Jan. 16 in Vancouver to discuss North Korea,
without the participation of China, Pyongyang's sole major ally and
biggest trade partner.
China would not attend the meeting and is resolutely opposed to it,
said foreign ministry spokesman Lu Kang.
"It will only create divisions within the international community
and harm joint efforts to appropriately resolve the Korean peninsula
nuclear issue," he told a regular briefing on Wednesday.
LARGE OLYMPICS DELEGATION
Pyongyang also said it would send a large delegation to next month's
Winter Olympics in South Korea.
Washington agreed with Seoul last week to postpone until after the
Olympics joint military exercises that Pyongyang denounces as
rehearsals for invasion. But it also said the apparent North-South
thaw had not altered the U.S. intelligence assessment of the North’s
weapons programs.
The United States has also warned that all options, including
military, are on the table in dealing with the North.
"We cannot say talks are the sole answer," Moon said. "If North
Korea engages in provocations again or does not show sincerity in
resolving this issue, the international community will continue
applying strong pressure and sanctions."
Seoul said on Tuesday it was prepared to offer financial assistance
and lift some unilateral sanctions temporarily so North Koreans
could attend the Olympics. North Korea said its delegation would
include athletes and officials, among others.
However, Moon said on Wednesday South Korea had no plans for now to
ease unilateral sanctions against North Korea, or revive economic
exchanges that could run foul of United Nations sanctions.
Moon also said his government would continue working toward
recovering the honor and dignity of former "comfort women", a
euphemism for those forced to work in Japan's wartime brothels.
But historical issues should be separated from bilateral efforts
with Japan to safeguard peace on the Korean peninsula, he added.
"It's very important we keep a good relationship with Japan," Moon
said.
On Tuesday, South Korea said it would not seek to renegotiate a 2015
deal with Japan despite determining that the pact was insufficient
to resolve the divisive issue, and urged Japan for more action to
help the women.
(Additional reporting by Josh Smith and Hyonhee Shin in SEOUL and
Michael Martina in BEIJING, Writing by Soyoung Kim, Editing by Paul
Tait)
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