FROM EIR DAILY ALERT
Seoul Has High Hopes for the Trump-Kim Summit
May 3, 2018 (EIRNS)—In a Seoul reception today for more than 100 representatives from the foreign diplomatic corps and international organizations, to brief them on last week’s historic summit between North Korea’s Kim Jong-un and South Korea’s Moon Jae-in, Seoul’s Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha said that her government expects that the upcoming summit between U.S. President Donald Trump and Kim Jong-un will offer a solution to fundamentally resolving the North Korean nuclear issue, and to bringing about lasting peace on the Korean Peninsula, Yonhap reported today.
“We very much want the success and the outcome of the South-North (Korean) summit to lead into the U.S.-North Korea summit,” Kang said.
“We very much expect the leaders of the U.S. and North Korea to put everything on the table, foremost the nuclear issue, and come up with an agreement that provides a fundamental solution—a peaceful, fundamental, complete solution—to the North Korean nuclear issue and also a way for lasting peace on the Korean Peninsula.”
Kang expressed her gratitude for the many messages of support and congratulations that Seoul had received from at least 90 foreign governments, on the occasion of the Kim-Moon summit. They “encourage us even more to work closely with the U.S. for the success of the U.S.-North Korea summit,” Kang said.
“But the work doesn’t end there. The nuts-and-bolts work of implementing the agreement that comes out will require another level of diplomatic engagement all around.”
Yonhap reported that Seoul is already seeking to hold a high-level dialogue with the D.P.R.K. in mid-May to discuss ways to implement the results of last week’s summit. President Moon had called for rapid implementation of the steps that can be taken right away, while others may have to be delayed due to international sanctions placed on the North.
A special presidential commission for just this purpose has been established and has already had its first meeting, headed by Moon’s chief of staff Im Jong-seok, presidential spokesman Kim Eui-kyeom announced. Aside from Im, a number of other government ministers will also participate.
Three sub-commissions have been established as well, to address improving inter-Korean relations, denuclearizing the North, and promoting bilateral communications. The task force on inter-Korean relations will immediately address the possibility of cross-border cooperation in forestry, an area in which the North urgently needs help.
