President Moon Jae-in attended a luncheon hosted by U.S. Vice President Mike Pence today. During the luncheon, they had conversations on such topics as the ROK-U.S. summit, the North Korean nuclear issue, the issue of deploying the THAAD system, Korean history, terrorism and other global issues.

President Moon began by saying that he was grateful to the Vice President for joining him in laying a wreath at the Korean War Veterans Memorial in the morning. He went on to say that the event was an opportunity for him to think again about the significance of the ROK-U.S. alliance. Even though he could not meet the Vice President in April when he visited Korea because he was a presidential candidate, the President added, he had found a remark by the Vice President to be a great deal of comfort at a time when there was security instability caused by North Korea’s provocations. Vice President Pence had said that at such a time the United States would be with Korea 100 percent. President Moon continued to say that he reaffirmed the common goal of Korea and the United States as well as the staunch ROK-U.S. alliance through his conversations with President Trump during this visit. He also stated that he was truly gratified by the fact that he could build friendship and trust with President Trump.

Vice President Pence responded by saying that he was honored to welcome a foreign head of state to his office for the first time. He also mentioned that President Trump, too, felt that the summit this time was a great success. He went on to emphasize that President Moon’s decision to hold his first summit since taking office with the United States testified to how much he valued ROK-U.S. relations. Saying “Gatchi Gapsida! (We Go Together)” in Korean, Vice President Pence explained that President Trump asked him to make a point of delivering to President Moon the same message he had uttered earlier, “Being with Korea 100 percent.” He added that President Trump was also grateful for President Moon’s remarks that sanctions and pressure were necessary to achieve the common objective of the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula.

Speaking of President Trump`s previous remarks that strategic patience was over and its repetition in the statement to the press today, President Moon said he also thought that it had finally failed. The President went on to say that dialogue and peace would be possible when there was an overwhelmingly dominant power and that, in this context, the ROK-U.S. combined defense capabilities and self-defense capabilities of Korea`s military had to be enhanced.

Secretary of Defense James Mattis, who was also attending the luncheon, said he had once asked a question of the survivors of the Jangjin Reservoir Battle as to what was remembered most vividly. To his great surprise, he said the answer was the suffering of the Korean people at that time, instead of their struggle to retreat about 70 miles, the severe cold or the deaths of their comrades. The Secretary of Defense went on to say that their answer made him always think deeply about the meaning of war.

The Defense Secretary next asked President Moon whether the Korean people had lost confidence in the United States because of the issue of THAAD. In response, President Moon said that that was not the case, adding that the United States was not responsible for the matter of procedural legitimacy pursued by the Korean Government. Noting that it was decided to deploy THAAD to defend the U.S. forces stationed in Korea and the Korean people, the President said that the previous Administration had failed to give the public sufficient explanations. He continued to say that the Administration had insisted until the very minute of the announcement that there had been no request from and related consultations with the United States and, thus, nothing had been decided. The President added that three denials by the Administration had also played a role in worsening relations with China. President Moon also explained that carrying out an environmental impact assessment at home would be conducive to further strengthening the ROK-U.S. alliance and reinforcing confidence in the United States.

National Security Adviser H.R. McMaster said President Trump had a lot of interest in history and had heard a story about Chinese history and about the history between Korea and China from Chinese President Xi Jinping during their earlier summit, asking President Moon to talk about how the histories of Korea and China were related from Korea’s point of view. The President answered that China had been the world’s most powerful nation at least until the Middle Ages and that most of the neighboring countries became tributary states and lost their language and culture. The President went on to say that Korea, however, suffered numerous invasions from China but kept its independence and had been a unified country for thousands of years, maintaining its culture. He continued to say that the two Koreas have been divided over the past 70 years, adding that thus the aspiration of Koreans for unification is very natural. Then, the President said though the North Korean nuclear and missile issues must be solved, there is a belief that there should never be war again on the Korean Peninsula because not only would prosperity be lost but the path to unification would also be gone for a very long time.

Under Secretary for Political Affairs Thomas A. Shannon, Jr. said the issue of how to position Korea-United States relations in the global context should be given attention as a very important task of the times and asked how President Moon thought about it. The President replied that Korea was an exemplary country that achieved economic growth and democracy with the help of the United States, adding that it grew from an aid recipient to become a donor nation. The President went on to say that Korea should share its experiences in economic growth with less developed countries and that it was a global role that it could play in cooperation with the United States. President Moon expressed the hope that the scope of their bilateral cooperation could be expanded in that way, adding that he wanted to return the favor Korea received from the world back to the world and humanity. Noting that there is a need to repulse acts of terrorism, which have been occurring beyond borders, President Moon said Korea would actively participate in fighting terrorism and in the restoration efforts in partnership with countries around the world.