Seoul: South Korean President Moon Jae-in believes that his US counterpart President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un need to meet again ahead of the American presidential election in November in order to reactivate the Korea peace process, a senior official said on Wednesday.
The South Korean presidential office has already conveyed Moon’s idea to the White House in their “close communication” especially following the North’s demolition of an inter-Korean liaison office in its border city of Kaesong last month, Yonhap News Agency quoted the official as saying.
“The US side understands (Moon’s position), and it’s making efforts (for that), as far as I know,” he told the reporter.
In a virtual summit with EU Council President Charles Michel and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on Tuesday, Moon reaffirmed his resolve to strive “with patience” to maintain the momentum of dialogue involving the US and the two Koreas, the official added.
Moon stressed that the two Koreas should not revert from hard-won “progress and accomplishments” in their relations.
It remains unclear whether Trump and Kim will be able to hold another round of summit talks within the coming months, reports Yonhap News Agency.
Earlier this week, Deputy Secretary of State Steve Biegun, Washington’s point man on Pyongyang, expressed doubt about the possibility.
“I think it’s probably unlikely between now and the US election,” Biegun told a forum, adding that the COVID-19 pandemic would make such an in-person summit more unlikely.