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President Moon Jae-in holds a summit with US President Donald Trump on Sept. 21 at the Lotte New York Palace Hotel (by Kim Kyung-ho

South Korean President Moon Jae-in and US President Donald Trump agreed on Sept. 21 on a plan for South Korea to introduce state-of-the-art US weaponry or develop its own to counter North Korea’s recent nuclear and missile provocations. Later the same day, Moon had a luncheon and trilateral summit with Trump and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, where the three agreed that the entire international community “must apply the maximum intensity sanctions and pressure so that North Korea cannot withstand it anymore and must come to the table for dialogue.”

staff photographer)

During their bilateral summit in New York that morning, Moon and Trump “agreed to maintain and strengthen a robust South Korea-US allied defense posture with South Korea’s acquisition and development of cutting-edge military assets, and to expand the rotational deployment of US strategic assets to South Korea and its surrounding region,” Blue House spokesperson Park Soo-hyun reported.

The two leaders also agreed to continue close discussions on the agreement when Trump arrives for a South Korea visit in November. The “cutting-edge military assets” mentioned during the summit reportedly also include nuclear-powered submarines, which have the subject of recent controversy.

President Moon Jae-in holds a summit with US President Donald Trump on Sept. 21 at the Lotte New York Palace Hotel (by Kim Kyung-ho

During the trilateral summit that day at the Lotte New York Palace Hotel, the three leaders “sternly denounced North Korea’s nuclear and missile provocations, making it clear that they are an unacceptable threat to peace and security not only for Northeast Asia but for the entire international community” and “shared the understanding that trilateral coordination should be closely discussed,” said Minister of Foreign Affairs Kang Kyung-wha. It was the second time in two-and-a-half months that the leaders of South Korea, US, and Japan met in one place, following their July meeting at the G20 Summit in Hamburg.

“Based on this understanding, the three leaders agreed that the international community should apply the maximum intensity of sanctions and pressure so that North Korea cannot withstand it and must come to the table for dialogue,” Kang said, adding that the three sides had “agreed to coordinate closely to ensure that the international community presents a united stance.”

Kang also said that the three had “agreed to use their firm trilateral coordination as a basis for cooperating closely with other relevant nations, including China and Russia.”

In particular, the three leaders noted at the summit that UN Security Council Resolution 2375 imposing intense sanctions against the North was adopted unanimously and with unprecedented speed, and agreed to strengthen their coordination to ensure that all UN member countries abide faithfully and thoroughly by that and other UNSC resolutions.

During the meeting, Trump reaffirmed that the US’s defense pledges to South Korea and Japan would be upheld firmly and unwaveringly.

“The three leaders agreed to continue their security cooperation in response to a North Korean nuclear and missile threat that is growing by the day,” added Kang.

staff photographer)

By Kim Bo-hyeop and Lee Jung-ae, staff reporters

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