South Korea’s Unification Minister has asked US President Donald Trump to meet the North Korean leader during his upcoming visit to Asia, urging the two men to seize a rare opportunity for peace, Yonhap news agency reported.
Unification Minister Chung Dong-young, Seoul’s top policymaker on ties between the divided Koreas, said Trump’s trip to South Korea was a “golden opportunity” that could help boost North Korea’s global standing and its economy.
“The leaders of North Korea and the United States must not miss this opportunity,” Yonhap quoted Chung as telling South Korean media.
“They need to make a bold decision.”
Trump met with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un three times during his previous term as president, but failed to reach an agreement to end Pyongyang’s nuclear program due to differences over lifting sanctions and over how to dismantle North Korea’s nuclear facilities.
Officials in Seoul, including South Korean President Lee Jae Myung, have been skeptical about the possibility of a new meeting next week, but welcomed the prospect of a breakthrough in diplomacy with Pyongyang if it occurred.
Trump left Washington on Friday night for a five-day trip spanning Malaysia, Japan and South Korea, his first to the region since he took office in January.
Chung claimed the visit was an opportunity to bypass the preparations and coordination normally required for a meeting between the leaders of the two old enemies that would otherwise make it very difficult for them to see each other.
“It would help North Korea’s international standing and improve the lives of its people… and for that, it is necessary to ensure peace and stability and that is only possible by meeting with President Trump,” Chung added.
Trump met Kim in the truce village of Panmunjom, straddling the inter-Korean border, in 2019 on a hastily arranged trip immediately after his visit to Japan for a world summit.