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South Korean President Moon Jae-in and BBC Seoul correspondent Laura Bicker after Moon’s keynote address at the Oslo Forum at Oslo University on June 12.

On June 12, South Korean President Moon Jae-in delivered a keynote address at the Oslo Forum, held at the University of Oslo, Norway, on the topic of peace on the Korean Peninsula. There were high hopes for the address, which took place on the first anniversary of the first North Korea-US summit, which was held in Singapore last year, but it did not ultimately unveil any groundbreaking plans for critical issues on the Korean Peninsula. One noteworthy aspect, however, was that Moon called on North Korean leader Kim Jong-un to join him for a summit before long during a Q&A session with reporters following the address.

It’s worth noting Moon’s endorsement of “peace for the people” in his address, along with his call for a peaceful solution to the “structural violence” inflicted on the people of South and North Korea by the peninsula’s division. Moon stressed that the only sustainable peace is one that the people can actually perceive. It was also notable that Moon dubbed the Korean Peninsula a “living community” and said that the South and North should work together to tackle forest fires, harmful insects, and infectious diseases affecting livestock in the border region. Importantly, Moon also called for a fourth summit with Kim, which he said ought to take place soon, before US President Donald Trump visits South Korea at the end of June. We hope that North Korea will respond quickly to Moon’s proposal.

Along with Moon’s address, the remarks that US President Donald Trump made about North Korea are also attracting attention. While announcing that he’d received a personal letter from Kim on June 11, Trump stressed the good relationship between the two leaders. Trump was also optimistic that something very positive would occur, noting that Kim had kept his promise not to launch long-range missiles or test any nuclear weapons.

The fact that Kim sent a letter to Trump can be regarded as a significant change, since it suggests the possibility of renewed contact between North Korea and the US, which broke off talks during their summit in Hanoi at the end of February. Every time the North Korea-US talks have run into an obstacle, that obstacle has been overcome through an exchange of letters; and Kim’s letter could once again engineer a breakthrough. To be sure, Trump said that the potential third summit would take place at some point in the future, suggesting that the summit is unlikely to happen right away. Nevertheless, the chances that denuclearization talks will be revived can be regarded as having been heightened considerably by Kim’s letter and Trump’s public response.

Another attention-grabbing development was the wreath and message of condolence that Kim Yo-jong, first vice director of the Workers' Party of Korea (WPK) and Kim Jong-un’s younger sister, brought to Panmunjom following the death of Lee Hee-ho, chair of the Kim Dae-jung Peace Center and wife of former South Korean President Kim Dae-jung. While that was not as proactive as sending a delegation of officials to South Korea would have been, the gesture can be taken as North Korea demonstrating sincerity in its own way.

In particular, Kim Yo-jong’s remarks that she hopes South and North Korea will continue to cooperate to honor the wishes of Lee Hee-ho, who had worked so hard for the nation’s harmony and cooperation, can be understood as conveying Kim Jong-un’s desire to develop inter-Korean relations. That gives reason to hope for future progress in inter-Korean dialogue. South Korea, North Korea, and the US need to seize this opportunity to focus their efforts on overcoming the deadlock between North Korea and the US before Trump’s visit to South Korea at the end of this month.

Please direct comments or questions to [english@hani.co.kr]