Former President Moon Jae-in, who is visiting the United States, urged dialogue between President Trump and Kim Jong-un, chairman of North Korea's State Affairs Commission, saying in a keynote speech at a roundtable held at the RAND Corporation in Santa Monica, Los Angeles, on the 6th (local time) that Trump's visit to China in April "could be a valuable momentum to turn back the clock of peace on the Korean Peninsula that has stopped."
Introducing his own experience of working to open the door to dialogue with North Korea during his presidency, Moon said, "Although the second U.S.-North Korea summit in Hanoi ended with no deal, leaving a bitter regret that we failed to achieve the outcome we aimed for, that step was by no means in vain," and added, "Peace is not a fortress completed in one stroke, but like a river that keeps carving a waterway and moving forward."
Moon emphasized, "As the situation on the Korean Peninsula has worsened, the solutions to resolve the issue have become even more difficult," but "the most powerful and effective strategy that can ultimately lead to real change in North Korea is 'dialogue.'"
Regarding the no-deal in Hanoi, he explained, "At the time, there was clearly a path where both sides could 'win-win' through a step-by-step, simultaneous, and pragmatic approach, but the talks ultimately failed to reach an agreement because an ideological approach of 'all or nothing' took precedence over the principle of a mutually beneficial negotiation."
Moon said, "The collapse of the negotiations ultimately drove North Korea further down the path of isolation and closure, resulting in the advancement of its nuclear and missile capabilities—an outcome none of us wanted," adding, "It would also be an outcome President Trump never desired."
Moon said, "President Trump's characteristic 'bold decision' could be the only key to unlocking the current deadlock," and added, "I hope President Trump will join hands with President Lee Jae-myung, who has expressed a willingness to talk." He also urged Chairman Kim Jong-un to engage in inter-Korean dialogue, saying, "Isolation and confrontation can never guarantee North Korea's future."