President Moon Jae-in (left) and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau hold a phone call on March 20 to talk about working together on free trade and toward a peaceful resolution for Korean Peninsula issues. The photo shows the two leaders at the G20 Summit in Hamburg, Germany, in July 2017. (Cheong Wa Dae)

By Yoon Sojung

President Moon Jae-in and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau held a phone call on March 20. The two leaders agreed to work together on protecting free trade and on finding a peaceful resolution for issues surrounding the Korean Peninsula. 

The two leaders expressed concern about protectionism, which has recently been growing around the world. They emphasized the importance of free-trade-centered international trade. 

Regarding the latest steel tariffs levied by the U.S., Trudeau said that the issue will be handled at the G7 meeting, which Canada will host in June. President Moon highly valued Canada’s efforts to protect the core values of free trade and said that Korea is willing to take part in that action, too. 

Regarding issues surrounding the Korean Peninsula, President Moon said that positive changes have been made recently on the Korean Peninsula, and explained some of the latest developments achieved by the special delegations that visited Pyongyang, Washington and other neighboring countries. He asked for his Canadian counterpart to keep playing a constructive role in resolving Korean Peninsula issues in a peaceful manner. 

The Canadian leader praised President Moon’s leadership, saying that the latest achievements, including the upcoming inter-Korean summit and the Pyongyang-Washington summit, are due to President Moon’s leadership. Prime Minister Trudeau also said that Canada will be prepared to support Seoul’s efforts to resolve the North Korean nuclear weapons issue in a peaceful manner. 

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