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South Korean President Moon Jae-in with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman in Seoul on June 26. (Yonhap News)

Behind-the-scenes dialogue toward a third North Korea-US summit is currently taking place between Pyongyang and Washington, South Korean President Moon Jae-in said.

Moon also predicted that the Korean Peninsula peace process “will move into its next phrase through the resumption of North Korea-US negotiations,” adding that it “appears the time is now ripe for that.”

In a joint written interview with Yonhap News and six global news agencies on June 26, Moon said, “I would first like to stress that even as no official dialogue has been taking place since the Hanoi summit [between North Korea and the US], the North Korean and US leaders’ willingness to engage in dialogue has not faded.”

His remarks are drawing even more attention with their message that “the time is now ripe” following a recent exchange of letters between US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un.

“It should be noted that these are behind-the-scenes discussions taking place after an understanding of each other’s positions was previously established through the Hanoi summit,” he said.

“Dialogue is also taking place through different channels between South and North Korea,” he added.

Moon remarked in particular on the definition of “denuclearization,” which North Korea and the US were unable to agree upon at the Hanoi summit.

“If the entirety of the Yongbyon nuclear facilities, including facilities for plutonium reprocessing and uranium enrichment, are fully and completely dismantled amid verification, then we will be able to view North Korea’s denuclearization as entering an irreversible phase,” he said. This marks the first time Moon has explicitly referred to the complete dismantlement of the Yongbyon facilities in reference to an “irreversible phase.”

He went on to say, “Once denuclearization talks really start going forward, the key thing is going to be determining which steps completed by North Korea should be regarded as the achievement of ‘substantive denuclearization’ – an ‘irreversible phase,’ in other words.”

Moon repeatedly affirmed his trust in Kim Jong-un’s commitment to denuclearization.

“Over the course of three summits with me, Chairman Kim has indicated that he wants to finish the denuclearization process quickly and concentrate on economic development. He never said anything tying denuclearization to the South Korea-US alliance or the withdrawal of US Forces Korea,” he said.

“In my several summits with Chairman Kim Jong-un, I sensed that he is a quite flexible and resolute individual,” he noted.

“I believe that the fastest way to achieve denuclearization through diplomatic means is to create a security environment where Chairman Kim can decide to implement nuclear dismantlement without concerns,” he said.

Moon also said, “Once substantive progress is made with the North Korea-US summit and denuclearization process, inter-Korean economic cooperation efforts including resumption of the Kaesong Industrial Complex can gain momentum, and the international community can look into the partial or gradual easing of UN Security Council sanctions.”

But when asked whether he regarded an exchange involving the Kaesong Complex and Mt. Kumsang tourism and measures to dismantle the Yongbyon nuclear facilities as a “fair deal” to achieve greater progress, he said, “I have never proposed exchanging a resumption for inter-Korean economic projects for measures to dismantle the Yongbyon nuclear facilities.”

“Inter-Korean economic cooperation is an attractive approach to South Korea, North Korea, and the US, as it can reduce the burden on the US and the rest of the international community while preemptively offering a glimpse of the ‘bright future’ that awaits North Korea after complete denuclearization,” he said.

By Lee Wan, staff reporter

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