“I hope to discuss denuclearization with Your Excellency, not Moon”
North Korea-US talks, intention of a ‘direct deal’ with Trump
▲ Caricature of Kim Jong-un
In a letter sent by North Korean leader Kim Jong-un (face) to the then President of the United States, Donald Trump, between 2018 and 2019, it was found that President Moon Jae-in expressed his wish not to hold talks with the United States. On the 25th, he released ‘Korea-US Journal No. 10’, a quarterly foreign and security magazine published by the Korea-US Club, a group of former and current US correspondents, 27 personal letters exchanged between Chairman Kim and former President Trump between April 2018 and August 2019.
According to the Korea-US Club, Chairman Kim held a summit with former President Moon and issued the Pyongyang Joint Statement September 19 in a personal letter on September 21, 2018, saying, “In the future, we will discuss the issue of denuclearization of Korean Peninsula directly with Your Excellency, not with South Korean President Moon Jae-in “I think the excessive interest that President Moon is showing on our problems is unnecessary,” he wrote.
In a personal letter on September 6, 2018, regarding then-Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, Chairman Kim said, “It is difficult to argue with Secretary Pompeo about the issue that separates us from the both sides, I don’t think he can. represent your intentions faithfully, who persuaded them to exchange views by meeting personally, the Prime Minister, who was born with a higher political sense.
Former President Trump also appeased Chairman Kim by saying, “Contrary to some media reports about our meeting, Chairman Kim and I have made tremendous progress,” right after the collapse of the second North Korea summit- USA in Hanoi the following year.
Former Unification Vice Minister Kim Cheon-shik analyzed that “Chairman Kim trusted the discussions with high-ranking officials at the time and did not want President Moon to interfere in the discussions.” He also said, “When I read the letter, Chairman Kim wanted to persuade former President Trump to achieve his position through negotiations, and he believed there was a possibility.” “Chairman Kim was keen to keep saying,” he said.
Lee Jeong-cheol, a professor at Seoul National University’s Department of Political Science and International Relations, explained, “Former President Trump had a clear will to improve relations with North Korea and was interested in producing realistic and tangible results, unlike the attitudes of officials working level based on pressure on North Korea.”
Reporter Seo Yu-mi
