President Moon Jae-in and U.S. President Donald Trump held a telephone conversation for an hour and 15 minutes from 9:15 in the evening on April 28. They exchanged ideas on the results of the inter-Korean summit held the day before.

President Trump began by congratulating President Moon on the success of the inter-Korean summit. Notably, he gave high marks to the fact the two Koreas achieved huge progress in their ties. President Moon responded by saying that the leaders of both Koreas shared an understanding that the arrangement of the inter-Korean summit and even the North Korea-United States summit scheduled to ensue was due in great part to President Trump’s bold and sweeping decision. President Moon went on to say the success of the inter-Korean summit this time was expected to serve as the cornerstone for the success of the North Korea-U.S. summit. 

In particular, President Trump noted that the affirmation of the goal to achieve a nuclear-free Korean Peninsula through complete denuclearization in the Panmunjeom Declaration constituted truly welcoming news not only to both Koreas but to the whole world.

In this connection, the two Presidents agreed to maintain close consultations between their two countries to ensure that an agreement is reached on concrete measures for the realization of complete denuclearization at the upcoming North Korea-U.S. summit. In addition, President Trump said he related to the agreement between the leaders of the two Koreas to declare an end to the Korean War.  

The two Presidents exchanged a wide range of views on ways to successfully host the summit between North Korea and the United States. For the timing of the summit, the two leaders were on the same page that it was desirable to hold it at the earliest date possible to keep the momentum of the inter-Korean summit going. They also exchanged opinions on the advantages and disadvantages of two to three potential candidate countries as the location of the summit.  

President Trump said he was looking forward to a summit with Chairman Kim Jong Un of the State Affairs Commission, hoping for very favorable results when it is held. The Presidents agreed to consult each other for its success. In particular, President Trump said he would place a priority on receiving President Moon’s calls at any time, stressing that close cooperation between Korea and the United States was very important.