FROM EIR DAILY ALERT
South Korean President Moon Jae-in, More than a Friend with U.S. President Trump
Sept. 26, 2018 (EIRNS)—South Korean President Moon Jae-in, speaking at the Council on Foreign Relations in New York yesterday, and on Fox News, gave fulsome praise to President Donald Trump for his work in launching the peace and denuclearization process on the Korean Peninsula.
“Ever since my inauguration last May, I had seven summit meetings with President Trump as well as more than 20 phone calls,” Moon said. “I can tell you that I have become more than a friend with President Trump and between the two of us, there is absolutely perfect trust,” he said.
Moon said of North Korean Chairman Kim Jong-un that, based on his experience,
“Kim Jong-un is young, very candid and polite, treating the elders with respect. I believe that Kim Jong-un is sincere and he will abandon nuclear weapons in exchange of economic development.”
He further remarked:
“Kim Jong-un said that he is well aware that a lot of people in the world still cannot trust North Korea or think North Korea is deceiving or trying to buy time, even after it took several steps to denuclearize.”
However, he said that Kim had responded to these doubts: “But what can North Korea gain from deceiving or buying time? This time, please trust North Korea’s sincerity.”
Moon also observed that U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo had had a similarly positive view of Kim after their meeting.
In his private meeting with President Trump on Sept. 24, in addition to signing the new bilateral trade agreement, Moon told Trump in regard to North Korea, “You are, indeed, the only person who can solve this problem,” and that Kim Jong-un had “repeatedly conveyed his unwavering trust and expectations for you.”
Moon and Trump discussed the possibility that the U.S. and South Korea could declare an end to the Korean War in exchange for further steps by the North. He emphasized that such a declaration would be different from a peace treaty, which would have to be negotiated after the denuclearization process. A declaration would not mean an end to the UN Command force in South Korea. The U.S. Force Command, which is separate from the UN Command, would not necessarily have to leave even with a peace treaty.
