Trump and Moon set to meet in Washington soon

Seoul: US President Donald Trump will host his South Korean counterpart Moon Jae-in next month, Seoul said, after the latest summit between Washington and Pyongyang ended in deadlock.

Moon has long backed a policy of engagement with nuclear-armed, sanctions-hit Pyongyang and was instrumental in brokering talks between Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un.

But the failure of Kim and Trump to reach an agreement in Hanoi on curtailing Pyongyang’s nuclear programme in exchange for relaxation of sanctions has raised questions over the future of the process.

Moon will visit Washington on April 11, the South’s presidential Blue House said. Its spokesman had earlier said it would be a two-day trip.

“The two leaders will have in-depth talks ... to coordinate their stance on setting up a peace regime on the Korean peninsula through complete denuclearisation,” Yoon Do-han, the senior presidential press secretary, said yesterday.

The White House confirmed the visit and the planned talks on North Korea.

“The alliance between the United States and the Republic of Korea remains the linchpin of peace and security on the Korean Peninsula and in the region,” the White House press secretary said in a statement, using the official name of South

Korea.

In Seoul, Moon has been under heavy criticism from the country’s right-wing politicians for his dovish approach following the no-deal outcome from Hanoi, with one lawmaker accusing him of acting as the “top spokesman” for Kim.

Moon had been pushing for the resumption of South Korean tourism to the North’s Mount Kumgang and operations at the Kaesong Industrial Complex, where Southern firms used to be staffed by Northern workers.

But his plan to unveil details of such projects on March 1 was scrapped as Kim and Trump failed to reach a deal.

In Washington, the Hanoi outcome paradoxically brought Trump praise within his Republican Party – some members had privately fretted that he was too eager to seal a deal. — AFP