The South Korean and US presidents yesterday agreed on the need for a comprehensive strategy on North Korea as they push to work together to achieve denuclearization on the Korean Peninsula, officials said.
During their first telephone talks since US President Joe Biden’s Jan. 20 inauguration, South Korean President Moon Jae-in proposed that the allies make joint efforts for lasting peace and denuclearization.
Biden said that it is important for Washington and Seoul to have the same position, and that his government would closely cooperate with South Korea to achieve joint objectives, Moon’s office said.
The two leaders agreed on the need to soon map out a “comprehensive strategy on North Korea if possible,” Moon’s spokesman, Kang Min-seok, said.
The White House said in a statement that Biden spoke with Moon to “stress his commitment to strengthening the United States[-South Korea] alliance, which is the linchpin for peace and prosperity in Northeast Asia.”
The leaders agreed to closely coordinate on North Korea, it said.
Moon, who took office in 2017, was once a driving force behind now-dormant diplomacy between North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and former US president Donald Trump.
The Kim-Trump talks collapsed in early 2019 when the US rejected North Korea’s calls for extensive sanctions relief in return for limited denuclearization steps.
Moon, who wants to resume the nuclear diplomacy, last month said that Biden could learn from Trump in dealing with North Korea, although he acknowledged that Biden was likely to try a different approach.
Biden has called Kim a “thug” and said that Trump sought made-for-TV summits with Kim.
Experts say that Biden would not sit down for one-on-one talks with Kim unless North Korea shows sincerity in efforts to get rid of its nuclear arsenal.
Last month, Kim said at a major political conference that the fate of his country’s relations with the US depends on whether Washington abandons what he calls a hostile policy.
He disclosed an array of high-tech nuclear weapons systems under development.
Earlier yesterday, Moon wrote on Twitter that he had “a great conversation” with Biden.
“We will always stand together as we work for peace on the Korean Peninsula and tackle global challenges,” he wrote.
Moon’s office said that the two shared the view that a trilateral cooperation among Seoul, Washington and Tokyo is important for regional peace.
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