President Moon Jae-in spoke by telephone with U.S. President Donald Trump today for the first time since his inauguration. They agreed to work closely together to solve the security crisis on the Korean Peninsula, including the North Korean nuclear problem, on the foundation of the strong Korea-U.S. alliance.

In his conversation with President Trump, President Moon said the Korea-U.S. alliance is more important than at any time before as there is an ever-growing uncertainty about developments on and surrounding the Korean Peninsula.

The telephone conversation, the first by President Moon with a foreign head of state, took place in his private residence in Seoul at 10:30 in the evening and lasted for approximately 30 minutes.

President Trump congratulated President Moon on his election by paying his respect to the choice of the Korean people. He went on to say that it would be possible though difficult to resolve the North Korean nuclear issue.

Officially inviting President Moon to visit the United States, President Trump said he would welcome him with the appropriate protocol due his stature as a head of state. He also proposed they celebrate their election victories together.

In response, President Moon said that he was delighted to receive the first congratulatory call from the U.S. President among many other foreign heads of state. He continued that in the interest of stability and prosperity of the two nations, it was also very pleasing for him to work together with a leader like President Trump who is equipped with strong leadership abilities.

President Moon also noted that the Korea-U.S. alliance has been the backbone of the Republic of Korea’s diplomacy and security policy and that it would continue to be so in the days to come. The President continued by saying that he highly valued President Trump’s placing high priority on reining in the North`s provocations and resolving the nuclear problem among many other issues pertaining to security.

Next, President Moon said that a delegation led by a special envoy would be dispatched at the earliest possible date and that he was looking forward to visiting Washington D.C. as soon as possible to sit together with the U.S. President for a heart-to-heart discussion.

Replying that the ROK-U.S. alliance is not just good but is a great one, President Trump said he hoped that President Moon would visit the United States at an early date for a bilateral summit. President Trump also said he would send a group of senior advisors to Korea soon and discuss President Moon’s visit to the United States.

In response, President Moon invited President Trump to visit Korea in a near future, saying he hoped that they would be able to exchange opinions on pending issues over the phone even before meeting together.

Then, President Trump said he was looking forward to personally meeting with President Moon, telling him to feel free to call whenever there are pending issues.