President Moon Jae-in and Russian President Vladimir Putin had their first telephone conversation since President Moon’s inauguration. Their dialogue lasted for approximately 20 minutes from 8:00 this evening.

The two heads of state discussed matters of mutual interest, including how to enhance Korea-Russia relations and resolve the North Korean nuclear issue.

President Moon said he would send a special envoy to Russia at the earliest possible date. President Putin promised that he would meet with a Korean delegation led by the special emissary at the request of President Moon.

President Moon expressed his view that Russia, a neighbor bordering the Korean Peninsula, is an optimal partner to Korea in promoting peace and prosperity in Eurasia. He went on to explain about three high-priority tasks intended for qualitative development in bilateral ties.

The first task is to reinforce strategic communications between Korea and Russia with a view to helping resolve the North Korean nuclear issue. President Moon expressed the hope that Russia would play a constructive role in persuading the North to stop nuclear provocations and turn onto the path to denuclearization. He also stressed that he himself would seek ways to resume inter-Korean dialogue and the Six-party Talks as soon as possible.

Second, President Moon proposed that the two nations further enhance forward-looking cooperation in new growth areas, including energy, and in developing the Northern Sea Route (NSR). 

Third, the President made a proposal that Seoul and Moscow expand development cooperation in the Russian Far East. In this regard, the President said that he was looking forward to the advent of an era when natural gas pipelines in Siberia will reach South Korea and the railroad network in Korea will be connected to that of Siberia. The President promised to make efforts to this end.

In response, President Putin expressed agreement, saying that his Administration is ready to continue to work together in all the areas mentioned today.

President Putin went on to say that Russia is ready to play a constructive role in resolving the North Korean nuclear issue.

The two leaders extended invitations to visit each other’s country and said they were looking forward to meeting in person at the G20 Summit scheduled in Hamburg, Germany, in early July.

With this phone conversation with President Putin, President Moon completed the round of phone diplomacy with the leaders of the four major powers surrounding the Korean Peninsula in the order of the United States, China, Japan and Russia.

President Moon intends to dispatch special envoys to the four nations as soon as they are ready.