South Korean President: North Korea clearly understands the concept of denuclearization
(Baonghean.vn) - South Korean President Moon Jae-in said on October 12 that North Korea clearly understands that it needs to give up its current nuclear weapons to achieve complete nuclearization and that Pyongyang has committed to doing so. The remaining issues are when and how.
In an interview with the BBC, Mr. Moon said: "North Korea has committed to complete denuclearization. They said they would give up nuclear weapons to develop the economy. They pledged that if the safety of the regime is guaranteed, there is no reason to possess nuclear weapons while facing many difficulties, such as sanctions."
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| South Korean President Moon Jae-in. Photo: AP |
The interview was conducted a day before Mr. Moon began his first European trip, visiting France and Italy to attend the Asia-Europe Summit. The South Korean president said that complete denuclearization, which North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has pledged to give up his current weapons when asked, is a must.
The South Korean presidential office (ie the Blue House) quoted Mr. Moon in an interview saying: "The complete denuclearization that leader Kim Jong-un spoke of starts from stopping new nuclear tests or test-launches of nuclear-tipped missiles, to dismantling nuclear weapons production and missile manufacturing facilities. And it includes everything else, such as giving up current nuclear weapons and nuclear materials."
Since taking office, President Moon has held three bilateral meetings with the North Korean leader, most recently in Pyongyang in September. The president said that Kim did not say when or how North Korea would completely abandon its nuclear ambitions, adding that these issues should be discussed between the United States and North Korea "because North Korea demands corresponding measures from the United States."
The South Korean president also stressed that measures corresponding to North Korea's denuclearization steps would include a formal declaration of the end of the Korean War (1950-1953), which he said would likely mean some kind of security guarantee for North Korea and help reduce the risk of future conflict on the Korean Peninsula.
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| The leaders of the two Koreas have met three times this year. Photo: Getty |
The two Koreas are technically still at war because the Korean War ended with an armistice, not a peace treaty.
At the US-North Korea summit in Singapore in June, President Donald Trump agreed to provide security guarantees to North Korea once Pyongyang completely denuclearizes. Mr. Moon said the US agreed that a formal end to the Korean War was necessary before complete denuclearization.
According to him, the issue of officially declaring the end of the war is being widely discussed in the US, and there is a consensus between the US and South Korea that such a declaration is needed "as soon as possible"./.
