The TASS Russian News Agency publishes an interview with President Moon Jae-in, currently in Vladivostok, under the title ‘President Moon hopes for true friendship with President Putin,’ on Sept. 5. (TASS Russian News Agency)

By Sohn JiAe

President Moon Jae-in held written interviews with the TASS Russian News Agency and the Rossiskaya Gazeta daily on Sept 5, just one day before he visited Vladivostok, Russia. In the interviews, President Moon spoke about the present and future of the Seoul-Moscow relationship and shared his thoughts about pending issues, including North Korean threats.

“When the growing demand for development across the Russian Far East is combined with Korean technology and experiences, I believe that the infinite potential in this region will be able to materialize,” said President Moon. He also hoped for more practical joint ventures to come between the two countries, across various fields, including the development of the North Pole Route, infrastructure -- railroads, ports, shipbuilding, roads -- agriculture and fisheries, and even healthcare.

The Rossiskaya Gazeta daily and President Moon Jae-in talk about Korea-Russia ties and important pending issues, like North Korea’s provocations, in an article on Sept. 5 titled `South Korean President answers questions about the Korean Peninsula crisis.’ (Rossiskaya Gazeta)

When asked to evaluate the current state of bilateral ties, which have continued for the past 27 years since the establishment of diplomatic ties between Seoul and Moscow, President Moon said, “Our two nations share a common vision: work together to pursue stability and unity across the region, under the goal of denuclearization on the Korean Peninsula and co-prosperity across Eurasia.”

“In this sense, trilateral cooperation among South Korea, North Korea and Russia would play a pivotal role in terms of guiding the North in the right direction, while laying the foundation for the establishment of peace and prosperity, not only across the peninsula, the Russian Far East and Northeast Asia, but also across Eurasia as a whole,” he stressed.

Pointing out that Korean pop music, cosmetics, vehicles and food have grown in popularity across Russia over recent years, the president said, “Personality traits among the Korean people, who always try to create something new and come up with new ideas, seem to strike a chord with the Russian people.”

He talked about the upcoming PyeongChang 2018 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games, too.

“Following the Sochi 2014 Winter Olympics, the PyeongChang Winter Games will be a chance to show to the world the capabilities that our nation has developed over the years,” as he called on Russians everywhere to have more interest in and to support the Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, Gangwon-do Province, in February next year.

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