President Moon Jae-in delivers a speech during a ceremony to mark the 74th anniversary of the Korean Peninsula's liberation from Japanese colonial rule at the Independence Hall of Korea in Cheonan, South Chungcheong Province, Thursday. Yonhap

NK urged not to spoil 'critical juncture' for denuclearization

By Yi Whan-woo, Kim Yoo-chul

President Moon Jae-in Thursday offered an olive branch to Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to end the trade dispute, stressing Seoul will "gladly join hands" if Tokyo cooperates to resolve the friction through dialogue.

In a nationally televised speech to celebrate the 74th Liberation Day, the President also downplayed military threats posed by North Korea and showed his hope for an early restart of nuclear disarmament talks between Washington and Pyongyang.

"If Japan chooses the path of dialogue and cooperation, better late than never, we will gladly join hands," President Moon said in his speech at the Independence Hall of Korea in Cheonan, South Chungcheong Province, according to Cheong Wa Dae press pool reports. This was the first time in 15 years that a government-organized Liberation Day celebration was held at the hall.

"If a country weaponizes a sector where it has a comparative advantage, the order of peaceful free trade inevitably suffers. A country that accomplished growth first must not kick the ladder away while others are following in its footsteps," the President said.

Moon's speech came amid deteriorating bilateral ties between Seoul and Tokyo after the latter removed the former from its list of trusted trading partners receiving preferential benefits in export procedures of components crucial to South Korea's manufacturing sector.

The South Korean leader pledged to make the country "an unshakable nation" that can facilitate cooperation in East Asia, lead peace and prosperity and establish a peace-driven economy for unification of the Korean Peninsula.

East Asia, according to Moon, faces "a golden opportunity" to jointly progress toward prosperity cooperation with a series of Olympics ― 2018 PyeongChang Winter Games, 2020 Tokyo Summer Olympics and 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics.

"Just as people around the world witnessed a peaceful Korean Peninsula at the PyeongChang Olympics, I look forward to seeing the Tokyo Olympics become a source of hope for friendship and cooperation," the President said.