Day Three Morning Briefing on Developments in Pyeongyang
The following is a briefing given this morning by Yoon Young-chan, Senior Secretary to the President for Public Communication.
I hope you all had a good rest. You worked truly hard yesterday to cover the torrential flood of news. I am deeply grateful to the media and journalists for working with us on this bold journey toward peace and prosperity.
Today is day three in Pyeongyang, one day after the Pyeongyang Joint Declaration of September 2018 was announced.
This spring, we heralded a new beginning for peace, and this fall, we are ascertaining that peace is the new future. The clock is ticking for ending the war in 70 years and promoting peace and prosperity. I take great pride in that all the people of the Republic of Korea have joined the Government as one team and press forward at this point in time.
On behalf of the President, let me express my infinite gratitude to the Korean people.
On the other hand, as I have said before, we are trying to present events as they unfold through live broadcasts as much as possible, but there are times when we are unable to do so as announced. We are doing our utmost to cooperate with and support the media, but we regret and are sorry that the broadcast links from Pyeongyang are not always as smooth as we had expected them to be.
We have keen interest in the North’s weather. Media outlets have begun to broadcast weather conditions in the North, and many people in the South have searched what the weather is like around Baekdusan Mountain, which I think is a new and meaningful development. In the Baekdusan region, the high is forecast to reach 20 degrees C and the low 2 degrees C. It can get chilly there.
Concerning the current situation, U.S. President Donald Trump said that he received Chairman Kim’s letter three days before and that it was very good news. He added that there had been tremendous progress.
U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced that they would immediately begin negotiations for a fundamental transformation of relations between North Korea and the United States, including complete denuclearization within President Trump’s first term. The Secretary of State also said that he had requested to meet North Korean Foreign Minister Ri Yong Ho during the U.N. General Assembly.
The Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson said, “[The two sides] reached a new important consensus,” and the Russian presidential spokesperson said, “We, of course, support and welcome such effective and efficient steps.” Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga said, “I hope [the summit] will lead to the complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula.” I believe that a new process is now in place, which is supported by all relevant countries.
A new era is about to begin. President Moon will leave for New York to attend the United Nations General Assembly upon his return from North Korea. As he said when he was leaving for Pyeongyang, the trip to New York would be to mediate and promote dialogue between North Korea and the United States. Although we cannot be too optimistic, I believe that it is apparent that a new bridge and a new future are being created. I ask you to watch the progress together.
After hiking on Baekdusan Mountain, President Moon and his delegation will depart to Seoul Air Base directly from Samjiyon Airport. It will move up the arrival time slightly.
We have been able to deliver good news opening a new future of the Korean Peninsula and will continue to do our best.
(Unofficial translation)
I hope you all had a good rest. You worked truly hard yesterday to cover the torrential flood of news. I am deeply grateful to the media and journalists for working with us on this bold journey toward peace and prosperity.
Today is day three in Pyeongyang, one day after the Pyeongyang Joint Declaration of September 2018 was announced.
This spring, we heralded a new beginning for peace, and this fall, we are ascertaining that peace is the new future. The clock is ticking for ending the war in 70 years and promoting peace and prosperity. I take great pride in that all the people of the Republic of Korea have joined the Government as one team and press forward at this point in time.
On behalf of the President, let me express my infinite gratitude to the Korean people.
On the other hand, as I have said before, we are trying to present events as they unfold through live broadcasts as much as possible, but there are times when we are unable to do so as announced. We are doing our utmost to cooperate with and support the media, but we regret and are sorry that the broadcast links from Pyeongyang are not always as smooth as we had expected them to be.
We have keen interest in the North’s weather. Media outlets have begun to broadcast weather conditions in the North, and many people in the South have searched what the weather is like around Baekdusan Mountain, which I think is a new and meaningful development. In the Baekdusan region, the high is forecast to reach 20 degrees C and the low 2 degrees C. It can get chilly there.
Concerning the current situation, U.S. President Donald Trump said that he received Chairman Kim’s letter three days before and that it was very good news. He added that there had been tremendous progress.
U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced that they would immediately begin negotiations for a fundamental transformation of relations between North Korea and the United States, including complete denuclearization within President Trump’s first term. The Secretary of State also said that he had requested to meet North Korean Foreign Minister Ri Yong Ho during the U.N. General Assembly.
The Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson said, “[The two sides] reached a new important consensus,” and the Russian presidential spokesperson said, “We, of course, support and welcome such effective and efficient steps.” Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga said, “I hope [the summit] will lead to the complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula.” I believe that a new process is now in place, which is supported by all relevant countries.
A new era is about to begin. President Moon will leave for New York to attend the United Nations General Assembly upon his return from North Korea. As he said when he was leaving for Pyeongyang, the trip to New York would be to mediate and promote dialogue between North Korea and the United States. Although we cannot be too optimistic, I believe that it is apparent that a new bridge and a new future are being created. I ask you to watch the progress together.
After hiking on Baekdusan Mountain, President Moon and his delegation will depart to Seoul Air Base directly from Samjiyon Airport. It will move up the arrival time slightly.
We have been able to deliver good news opening a new future of the Korean Peninsula and will continue to do our best.
(Unofficial translation)
