The Asian edition of the U.S. weekly news magazine Time, dated May 15, puts Korea’s President Moon Jae-in on its cover, introducing him as `the negotiator.` (Time)

By Sohn JiAe and Kim Young Shin

On May 4, Time magazine, a U.S. news weekly, selected President Moon Jae-in, who was only a candidate at the time, to be on the cover of its Asian edition, prior to the presidential election on May 9.

On the cover is a portrait of Korea’s newest president, and the headline calls him “the negotiator.” The feature article, with the subtitle “Moon Jae-in aims to be the South Korean leader who can deal with Kim Jong Un,” focuses on President Moon’s likely North Korea policy.

“Moon is determined to go his own way about it, tackling the Kim regime not by aggression but by measured engagement,” wrote Charlie Campbell, the article’s author. “As chief of staff [to former President Roh Moo-hyun], he helped engineer the South Korean president’s historic summit with Kim’s father, Kim Jong Il, in 2007.”

The article quoted President Moon saying, “The same step-by-step approach is still workable.”

“Moon says he and Trump already agree that the Obama administration’s approach of ‘strategic patience’ with North Korea was a failure,” wrote Campbell.

“In that sense, I believe we will be able to share more ideas, talk better and reach agreements without difficulty,” said President Moon during his interview with Time.

“The first step in bringing the countries [South and North Korea] together must be economic cooperation,” the article quotes Moon as saying. “All of which leaves room for Moon`s push for engagement to succeed.”

***