hankyoreh

Oct. 26. (by Shin So-young

By Seok Jin hwan, staff reporter

Moon Jae-in told former US Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian affairs Christopher Hill that he plans to resume the six-party talks on the North Korea nuclear issue if elected.

The Democratic United Party presidential candidate met with Hill on Oct. 26 at the National Assembly. Hill, a onetime US ambassador to South Korea and chief representative for the US at the six-party talks during the Roh Moo-hyun administration, is considered one of the best informed Americans on Korean issues.

During the meeting, Moon called the talks a "useful framework for resolving the North Korean nuclear issue."

Moon also made reference to next month's US presidential election, saying relations between Seoul and Washington would "remain largely unchanged no matter who becomes president [in the US], and the same goes no matter which candidate is elected in South Korea."

The candidate also endeavored to show his intent to maintain consistency in diplomatic areas such as resolving the nuclear issue and coordinating with Washington. "Cooperation between South Korea and the US is the most crucial thing for peace on the Korean Peninsula," he said.

Moon reiterated a plan for resolving the nuclear issue that involved sending a special envoy to Pyongyang for an immediate resumption of dialogue, coordinating with Washington and Beijing through summit meetings, and organizing an inter-Korean summit.

The candidate also blasted the Lee Myung-bak administration's approach to the North Korea issue, calling it "a violation of the principles of the September 19 joint statement from the six-party talks [referring to North Korea's abandoning its nuclear program in exchange for light-water reactors] and a demand for unilateral action from North Korea" to abandon its nuclear program.

"By presenting the content for discussion at the talks as a precondition for resumption, they led me to question whether they have any intent of engaging in talks at all," he said.

That afternoon, Moon headed to his alma mater, Kyung Hee University, to visit the set of a rehearsal for the television program "Superstar K4," part of an effort to connect with younger people. Meanwhile, the candidate's camp brought on board eleven "mentors" from the culture and arts communities, including film director and Roh-era culture minister Lee Chang-dong, Studio MIR president Yoo Jae-myung (whose "Legend of Korra" animated series has been hugely successful on US cable TV), "Letter of a Private" composer Kim Hyun-sung, Sungkonghoe University adjunct professor Tak Hyun-min, "Robot Taekwon V" cartoonist Kim Hyeong-bae, and "Rock Island" singer Kim Won-joong.

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