At the request of U.S President Donald Trump, President Moon Jae-in spoke to him on the phone for 30 minutes from 10:00 p.m. today. The two Presidents exchanged views on recent developments on the Korean Peninsula and coordinated ROK-U.S cooperation in response to the COVID-19 outbreak. President Trump offered congratulations on how Korea successfully staged general elections. In particular, he congratulated President Moon on “a great win.”    

President Moon expressed his gratitude for President Trump’s congratulatory message and said, “Improvements in the situation with COVID-19, including a marked decrease in new confirmed cases, were instrumental in gaining victory in the general elections.” 

President Trump noted that the Republic of Korea’s response has become the ultimate example at a time when many countries in the world are suffering from COVID-19.

President Moon explained that, although domestic situation has improved with the number of new confirmed cases falling below 20 over the past two days, the government is still deliberating on whether to ease social distancing. The President expressed his hope that President Trump’s strong leadership will help bring the rising COVID-19 cases in the United States under control in the near future so that the United States can focus on rebuilding the economy, an area of keen interest to President Trump.

President Trump expressed his gratitude to Korea for superbly demonstrating the spirit of the ROK-U.S. alliance by not only supplying diagnostic kits, but also actively facilitating the export of other equipment in the process of responding to the COVID-19 outbreak. The two countries agreed to maintain cooperation on quarantine measures to combat COVID-19 going forward. 

The two leaders also discussed the latest developments in North Korea. President Moon spoke highly of President Trump’s active engagement in North Korea issues to establish peace on the Korean Peninsula. President Trump replied that it is something he wants to do and that he will continue to make efforts in that regard. The two leaders reaffirmed the principle of providing COVID-19-related humanitarian assistance to North Korea.