President Moon Jae-in invites Kim Jong-un to visit South Korea again

The call was made in a speech on the morning of January 7, amid concerns that the current crisis in US-Iran relations could “kill” diplomatic efforts on the North Korean nuclear issue.

South Korean President Moon Jae-in invited Mr. Kim Jong-un to visit South Korea in 2020. Photo: AP

South Korean President Moon Jae-in said he is ready to meet North Korean leader Kim Jong-un multiple times and is ready to hold talks aimed at resuming operations at the Kaesong industrial complex and tours to North Korea's Mount Kumgang.

According to Mr. Moon Jae-in, South Korea is ready to resume inter-Korean economic cooperation activities in the context that North Korea is still subject to international sanctions led by the US.

Moon Jae-in urged North Korea to reciprocate South Korea's goodwill to resume bilateral dialogue, stressing that an improvement in inter-Korean relations would help advance nuclear negotiations. He also called on North Korea to refrain from military threats to avoid harming the negotiations with the United States.

Previously, North Korea suspended almost all economic cooperation with South Korea, while pressuring South Korea to separate its stance from the US to restart joint economic projects.

However, analysts say that the resumption of inter-Korean economic cooperation will depend on the progress of nuclear negotiations between the US and North Korea. Meanwhile, the US attack on Baghdad International Airport not only killed Iran's top military commander Qassem Soleimani, but also caused "indirect casualties", which is a diplomatic solution to denuclearize the Korean Peninsula.

The US-Iran crisis negatively affects North Korea nuclear negotiations. Photo: The Patriot Post

North Korea’s initial response to the US killing of Soleimani was cautious. North Korean state media remained silent for several days before issuing a brief report on the strike on Monday that did not even mention Soleimani by name.

But according to analysts, escalating tensions between the US and Iran will reduce North Korea's expectations for negotiations with the US, indirectly confirming the message that developing nuclear weapons is the strongest way for North Korea to ensure national security and avoid being pushed into a situation like Iran.