“I think –– clearly, credit goes to President Trump.”
@camanpour/Twitter/Cheriss May/Getty Images
After the leaders of North and South Korea made the historic vow to end the war between their countries on Friday, South Korean Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha gave the credit to President Donald Trump during an interview with CNN.
Following months of insults between Trump and North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un, Kang Kyung-wha said she was “pleasantly surprised” by the peaceful progress.
“How do you account for it?” CNN’s Christiane Amanpour asked.
“One, I think –– clearly, credit goes to President Trump,” Kang Kyung-wha responded. “He’s been determined to come to grips with this from day one. My president also since day one.
“I think Presidents Moon [Jae-In] and Trump have worked very closely together, sometimes in complementarity, sometimes in different messaging, but the level of consultations and the confidence between the two leaders has been instrumental in bringing us to this point,” she continued.
Watch the interview:
South Korea’s Foreign Minister tells me in Seoul that “clearly credit goes to President Trump” for bringing North Korea to the negotiating table. “He’s been determined to come to grips with this from day one,” Kang Kyung-wha says.
Airs 8pm CET on @cnni, 11pm ET on @pbs . pic.twitter.com/DpBExrlnc6
— Christiane Amanpour (@camanpour) April 26,2018
Kang Kyung-wha went on to call the “pressure” and “increased sanctions” placed on North Korea by other countries around the world key moves that helped nudge the isolationist nation toward agreeing to peace with its southern neighbor.
According to the foreign minister, a “very successful summit” will soon take place between the two Koreas, and there’s one important thing to achieve while there.
“If we can get — put in writing the North Korean leader’s commitment to denuclearization, that would be a very solid outcome,” she said.
Kang Kyung-wha’s interview comes hours after Kim Jong Un and the South Korean president shook hands and agreed to denuclearize the peninsula after decades of tension.
Carlin Becker is a Senior Writer at IJR. Previously, she wrote for Rare and Red Alert Politics….
