South Korea’s Moon Jae-in credits Donald Trum for talks with North Korea
South Korean President Moon Jae-in credited U.S. President Donald Trump on Wednesday for helping to spark the first inter-Korean talks in more than two years, and warned that Pyongyang would face stronger sanctions if provocations continued.
The talks were held on Tuesday on the South Korean side of the demilitarised zone, which has divided the two Koreas since 1953, after a prolonged period of tension on the Korean peninsula over the North’s missile and nuclear programmes.
North Korea ramped up its missile launches last year and also conducted its sixth and most powerful nuclear test, resulting in stronger international sanctions. Tuesday’s talks, the first since December 2015, were held to resolve problems, revive military consultations, and avert accidental conflict.
“I think President Trump deserves big credit for bringing about the inter-Korean talks,” Moon told reporters at his New Year’s news conference. “It could be a resulting work of the U.S.-led sanctions and pressure.”
Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un exchanged threats and insults over the past year, raising fears of a new war on the peninsula.
Washington had raised concerns that the overtures by North Korea could drive a wedge between it and Seoul, but Moon said his government did not differ with …read more
