morning. The two heads of state shared an understanding about the grave security situation on the Korean Peninsula following the series of recent provocations by North Korea. Their discussions centered on how Korea and the United States should cooperate and how to respond to such provocations.

More than anything else, Presidents Moon and Trump both expressed serious concern about the sophistication of North Korea’s missile capabilities. They concurred on the necessity of applying maximum pressure and sanctions on North Korea in cooperation with the international community so that the North would make the right choice of abandoning its nuclear and missile programs.

President Trump briefed President Moon on the United Nations Security Council’s adoption of an unprecedentedly powerful and comprehensive sanctions resolution against North Korea with unanimous consent, including that of China and Russia, which was a crucial turn of events. He said it is necessary to take such a firm stand, including the imposition of strong pressure and sanctions, to elicit a change of attitude from the North.

President Moon noted the success in adopting the tough resolution in collaboration with China and Russia and expressed the hope that it would serve as a catalyst for inducing changes in North Korea.

President Moon also took note of the prompt implementation of forceful countermeasures at the alliance level based on consultations between the National Security Councils of both nations immediately after North Korea’s strategic provocations on July 4 and 28. In addition, he gave a positive assessment of the show of force by the United States against the North based on its firm commitment to the defense of Korea.

In preparation for the increasing possibility that North Korea might carry out another provocation around the time of the ROK-U.S. joint military exercise scheduled for late August, the two Presidents reached an agreement to continue coordination to deter and respond to any such additional provocation on the strength of a robust combined defense posture. 

President Moon highlighted the need to take action to improve Korea’s defense capabilities in tandem with measures to reinforce the ROK-U.S. combined defense readiness for the sake of protecting peace on the Korean Peninsula. As part of such efforts, President Moon asked his counterpart to take interest in and provide support for the satisfactory conclusion of negotiations over the revision of the missile guideline, which was discussed during the ROK-U.S. summit in July. President Trump responded by saying that he would actively cooperate.

President Trump expressed interest in the South Korean Government’s proposal for dialogue and North Korea’s response to the proposal. President Moon answered that it was necessary to show that the door for dialogue would be open when the North made the right decision of giving up its nuclear program, while Korea and the United States make concerted efforts to bring the North back to the negotiating table ultimately for the dismantlement of its nuclear program through strong pressure and sanctions based on superior power. 

In particular, President Moon stressed that, since another horror of war on the Korea Peninsula is unthinkable, the North Korean nuclear problem should be resolved in the end through peaceful and diplomatic means based on close cooperation between Korea and the United States. In addition, President Moon made it clear that the proposals made on July 17 to hold an inter-Korean Red Cross and inter-Korean military talks were a humanitarian measure as well as a step to seek the easing of tension by preventing any accidental military conflict.

Mentioning that Korea was a wonderful and great ally and partner and that the United States was making enormous military expenditures for the ROK-U.S. alliance, President Trump said, however, it would be necessary to amend the Korea-U.S. free trade agreement in order to address the problem of huge trade deficit of the United States and develop a fair relationship.

Noting that the KORUS FTA was beneficial for both countries, President Moon said the two countries should work together so that the agreement, which was the basis for the security alliance as well as economic cooperation, could develop further in a mutually beneficial way building upon the existing accomplishments. The President continued to say that a Minister for Trade, who is going to represent the Korean side, was recently appointed and expressed the hope that consultations between the related authorities of the two nations would proceed smoothly.  

President Moon extended an invitation for President Trump to visit Korea at the earliest date possible within this year or during the PyeongChang 2018 Winter Olympic Games in coming February at the latest. This was his second invitation to President Trump since he made a similar offer during the ROK-U.S. summit in July. President Trump expressed gratitude for the invitation and said that he hoped that he would be able to visit Korea soon.

The two leaders noted that they had constructive talks and agreed to frequently hold such close consultations in the months to come.