In this Sept. 19, 2018 photo, South Korean President Moon Jae-in, left, and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un hold the documents after signing at the Paekhwawon State Guesthouse in Pyongyang, North Korea. AP-Yonhap |
South Korea is ready and willing to resume its economic cooperation with North Korea if the move will help accelerate denuclearization of the communist state, South Korean President Moon Jae-in said Tuesday in his telephone conversation with U.S. President Donald Trump.
The offer came as Trump is set to hold his second meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un next week.
"President Moon Jae-in also told (President Trump) to have South Korea play a role in providing corresponding measures to encourage North Korea's denuclearization steps," Moon's spokesman Kim Eui-kyeom said in a press release.
Trump and Kim first met in Singapore in June, and the North Korean leader agreed to fully denuclearize his country in exchange for security guarantees from the U.S.
Pyongyang's denuclearization steps, however, have largely stalled amid its demand for "corresponding measures" for measures it claims to have taken already.
The U.S. has been widely expected to make some concessions at the second Trump-Kim summit and offer some incentives to the impoverished North.