Moon to help Trump narrow opinion gap with Kim

President leaves for Washington for summit

By Kim Rahn

President Moon Jae-in has embarked on a mission to set a joint strategy with U.S. President Donald Trump to help him have a successful summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and achieve the North's denuclearization.

Moon departed for Washington, D.C., Monday afternoon, for bilateral talks with Trump Wednesday.

The meeting will take place amid a twisted situation where Pyongyang has abruptly pulled back from the reconciliatory mood to protest the ongoing South Korea-U.S. joint air force exercises and some American hawkish officials' comments about the possible application of a "Libyan model" in resolving the nuclear issue. North Korea threatened to reconsider the Kim-Trump summit slated for June 12 and has refused talks with the South.

Moon arrives in Washington for meeting with Trump 2018-05-22 10:20  |  Politics
It seems Trump is upset about Pyongyang's sudden change of attitude and is trying to figure out what's behind it. Moon and Trump had a phone conversation Sunday, just three days before their planned meeting. Trump mainly asked questions and Moon answered them, according to Cheong Wa Dae.

The two will discuss the current situation and the North's intentions, as well as come up with a strategy to overcome the standoff and encourage Pyongyang to return to dialogue.

National Security Office Deputy Director Nam Gwan-pyo said the Moon-Trump meeting would play a role leading to the success of the Trump-Kim summit which will take place about three weeks from now. The two leaders will also discuss "ways to guarantee a bright future for North Korea when it achieves complete denuclearization."

Lee Geun, a professor at Seoul National University's Graduate School of International Studies, said Moon has to help Washington and Pyongyang narrow the gap in the pacing of denuclearization.

"The U.S. will want the denuclearization to be completed as soon as possible, while North Korea will prefer a phased process because it cannot fully trust the U.S.," Lee said. "The key lies on how to reduce the phases and how fast the process can be made."

Ken Gause, director of the International Affairs Group at CNA, said the timing of providing compensation to the North in return for giving up its nuclear arsenal would be important, adding the allies cannot just push North Korea to remove its weapons without any incentives in the course of the process.

"(Trump's national security adviser) John Bolton's suggestion of such a process before North Korea receives any economic or security incentives and guarantees is a recipe for failure," Gause said. "He (Kim) needs to see that the sacrifice he is willing to make is worth it."

After arriving in Washington, D.C. Tuesday, the next day Moon and Trump will have a one-on-one meeting with interpreters only, where Moon is likely to give advice to Trump about Kim based on his experience of private talks with the North Korean leader during the April 27 Inter-Korean Summit. Later, their aides will join in the talks. The leaders will not have a joint press conference after the meeting.

Afterward, Moon will visit a building formally used by Korean diplomats during the Joseon Kingdom in the 19th century. The building will reopen as a museum after six years of renovation.