SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — South Korean President Moon Jae-in on Wednesday downplayed concerns that the resumption of inter-Korean dialogue…
SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — South Korean President Moon Jae-in on Wednesday downplayed concerns that the resumption of inter-Korean dialogue will be accompanied by an easing of international sanctions and pressure on North Korea over its nuclear program.
Moon made the comments in a meeting with political party leaders a day after South Korea announced an agreement with the North to hold a rare summit in April. Senior South Korean officials who met with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in Pyongyang on Monday also said the North expressed a willingness to hold talks with the United States on denuclearization and normalizing ties.
Conservative opposition leaders expressed concern during Wednesday’s meeting at Seoul’s presidential palace that North Korea could use the talks as a way to reduce the pressure, and also questioned whether the North in genuinely interested in abandoning its nuclear weapons.
“The sanctions and pressure on North Korea aren’t maintained by South Korea alone — these are actions based on U. N. Security Council resolutions, and then there are strong unilateral sanctions imposed by the United States,” Moon said, added that the pressure on the North could only be reduced by “substantive progress” on denuclearization.
