President Moon Jae-in and German Chancellor Angela Merkel held a summit during dinner for an hour and a half from 7:20 this evening. They had extensive discussions on their traditional ties of friendship and cooperation and the promotion of substantive collaboration between the two countries as well as on measures to work together at regional and international levels.

Prior to dinner, President Moon and Chancellor Merkel reviewed the honor guard and delivered a joint press statement. Dinner proceeded in an amicable atmosphere all the while.

After the summit, as President Moon walked toward members of the local Korean community hailing him outside the residence of the German Chancellor, Chancellor Merkel joined him for about 100 meters to greet the crowd together. An official of the German Chancellery made the comment that he had never seen such a scene ever before, attesting to how extraordinary Chancellor Merkel’s hospitality was.

Today’s summit was characterized by Chancellor Merkel’s numerous questions about and interest in issues involving the Korean Peninsula. The number of questions and their content affirmed how keen her interest was. 

Chancellor Merkel began by noting that she had kept a close watch on the situation of the Korean Peninsula and how Korean democracy had matured after going through the tough times of the impeachment. Saying that what she believed had helped President Moon be elected were the people’s expectations about an anti-corruption drive, sharing of economic gains and balanced development, Chancellor Merkel asked President Moon for his thoughts about that. She also asked him what would be an appropriate response to the North Korean issue.

President Moon responded by first thanking her for inviting him to make an official visit to Germany for a summit, following his first overseas trip to the United States. He went on to say that he understood well how much support and respect she was receiving from the public for her leadership in connecting with the people, which was typified by her doing grocery shopping herself. He continued to say he was very pleased to meet her in person.

President Moon next said that Korea had undergone political upheavals as the Chancellor had noted but that the candlelight rallies participated in by many citizens had helped pave the way to set right constitutional values and democratic politics that had been undermined and to launch a new democratic administration. Speaking of the Korean people`s yearning for a fair, just and corruption-free nation where principles and common sense prevailed, President Moon said that building such a nation constituted a task he would fulfill in cooperation with the people. Moving on to the North Korean issue, the President said that its nuclear and missile development was a source of the gravest concern at the moment. Particularly concerning the missile the North had test-fired the day before, the President said it was a highly advanced one, referring to it as a provocation threatening peace on the Korean Peninsula and in the world. Saying that there had to be international sanctions and pressure, the President asked the Chancellor about whether she had any ideas to share.

In addition, the President said that, even though the G20 Summit was a gathering convened to discuss economic issues with an already fixed agenda, he would be grateful if Germany, as a chair country, took interest in including the shared resolve of member countries in a statement in consideration of the seriousness of the North`s pursuit of missile development.

Chancellor Merkel responded by saying that it could be possible to finally adopt a joint statement if there was unanimous consent among the G20 member nations, adding that realistically it would be a tall order. However, the Chancellor said that it would be feasible to review the possibility of incorporating phrases like “all member nations engaged in a discussion on this matter” and “they are required to follow UN resolutions and resultant measures” in the Chair`s Statement. The Chancellor went on to say that it would not make sense not to mention anything about the North Korean issue at the G20 meeting.

On top of this, the Chancellor raised a question about how much the North had advanced its nuclear and missile technologies. In reply, President Moon said that the North`s current nuclear and missile capabilities were worrisome but what was more troubling was the fact that its development was way faster than expected. Noting that experts in both the United States and Korea had projected that it would take about two more years for the North to develop an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM), President Moon said that the one fired the day before was seen to have come very close to an ICBM. The President went on to say that, though the range it traveled increased, it still remained to be seen how accurate it was and whether it could carry a nuclear warhead. Saying that experts might predict this also could happen in two or three years, President Moon said that we were now faced with a grave situation in which we could not feel at ease, which he added the United States might agree to. The President went on to say that he would delve into this matter during a bilateral meeting with President Xi Jinping of China the next morning and a trilateral meeting with leaders of the United States and Japan over dinner in the evening.

Noting her schedule to meet President Trump the next day, Chancellor Merkel said she intended to tell him that hasty responses could result in dangerous situations. Agreeing to that point, President Moon said he believed that, though international pressure needed to be stronger since the level of North Korea’s provocations had increased, the sanctions and pressure should be a means of bringing the North back to the negotiating table for the complete dismantlement of its nuclear program but should not break the peace itself. The President went on to say that any eventuality could lead to a risky situation when tension continued to build up like right now. The President continued to say that the level of sanctions and pressure should be increased but, at the same time, there was also a need to well manage the situation. Noting that since it was true that China has the biggest influence on North Korea, he expressed the hope that China would make bigger contributions than it has so far. The President also said he intended to have really a frank and heart-to-heart talk on that matter with Chinese President Xi Jinping in a meeting the next day.

President Moon suggested that details on the issue of North Korea be dealt with by the U.N. Security Council and said that it would be sufficient for the G20 leaders to jointly express a principled position.

Asking how Korea would be supporting the Paris Agreement on climate change, Chancellor Merkel went on to say that if she won the election in September and remained in her office, she would cooperate in the area of a European-style social market economy, in which the President had an interest. The Chancellor added that it was because she hoped that democracy in Korea would continue to succeed and become an exemplary case for countries in East Asia.

Finally, President Moon said he was certain that the Chancellor would win the election in September and asked her to visit Korea, if she won, at the earliest date possible to upgrade the two countries’ relationship.