SEOUL, Oct. 8 (Yonhap) — President Moon Jae-in said Monday that Chinese President Xi Jinping is expected to visit North Korea in the near future, while the North’s leader is also expected to visit Russia.
Moon made the remark during a Cabinet meeting, saying U.S. President Mike Pompeo’s trip to Pyongyang paved the way for an early second summit between North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and U.S. President Donald Trump.
“Separately from the second North-U.S. summit, Chairman Kim’s trip to Russia and Chinese President Xi Jinping’s visit to North Korea are expected to take place,” Moon said. “The possibility of a North-Japan summit also remains open.”
Pompeo made a one-day trip to Pyongyang on Sunday and held talks with the North’s leader. Upon his return from the North, the top American diplomat paid a visit to Moon and briefed him on the results of his discussions.
“U.S. Secretary of State Pompeo’s trip to the North created an atmosphere and conditions for holding a second North-U.S. summit at an early date,” Moon said.
He instructed the Cabinet to work closely with the U.S. so that a North-U.S. summit will take place as early as possible and make progress in Korean Peninsula denuclearization and peace process.
Moon also expressed gratitude to Trump for having Pompeo visit him right after the trip to the North.
“A new order is being created on the Korean Peninsula,” Moon said. “A new order on the Korean Peninsula will lead to a new order in Northeast Asia. I think all these are processes that are necessary and needed for realizing complete denuclearization and lasting peace on the Korean Peninsula.”
Moon said the South should make greater efforts to cooperate with the U.S. and other countries so as to “dismantle the last-remaining Cold War in the world.”
By Yonhap News
The 21st Century