hankyoreh

South Korean President Moon Jae-in presides over a Cabinet meeting at the Blue House on

South Korean President Moon Jae-in has voiced his hope that North Korean leader Kim Jong-un will attend a commemorative summit between South Korea and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) that will be held in Busan in November.

Moon made the remarks in a written interview that was published in the Bangkok Post, an English-language newspaper in Thailand on Aug. 30, prior to a trip that will take him through Thailand, Myanmar, and Laos on Sept. 1-6.

“It would be a very meaningful occasion for peace on the Korean Peninsula and in East Asia, if Chairman Kim is given the chance to join the gathering [of the leaders of the 10 member states of ASEAN]. [. . .] Of course, the decision on whether to invite Chairman Kim should be made in light of the progress being made in the peace process on the Korean Peninsula, including the dialogue between the United States and North Korea,” Moon said in the interview.

“[If Kim were also invited to] the East Asia Summit due to be held in Bangkok [in November], East Asian countries would be able to discuss in detail with North Korea about possible areas of cooperation between them.”

“Chairman Kim has personally made clear [. . .] his willingness to move forward by opting for economic development instead of nuclear programmes [. . .] on various occasions, including the three inter-Korean summits last year and the two summits with the United States. [. . .] I hope that ASEAN will play a big role in helping North Korea abandon its nuclear programmes and stand together with all of us.”

Moon also addressed South Korea-Japan relations in the interview. “I'm ready to embrace and cooperate with Japan when it returns to the table for dialogue and cooperation, whenever that may be. [. . .] The damage inflicted by Japan’s [. . .] unwarranted economic retaliation against Korea in relation to history issues [. . .] will negatively impact not only Korea but also the global economy.”

“The Korean government intends to resolve the issue diplomatically through dialogue. [. . .] It makes no sense to hurt each other's economies because of issues that lie outside the economic realm. A vicious cycle of response and counter-response is not desirable,” Moon said.

By Seong Yeon-cheol, Staff writer

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