Ministry of National Defense Republic of Korea

President Moon Jae-in holds summit with U.S. President Trump;

Republic of Korea-U.S. alliance has become stronger and greater;

Two leaders agreed to maintain close cooperation as an axis to ensure peace, stability and prosperity in the region

Consensus reached on a solution to the denuclearization of Korean Peninsula; shared goals reconfirmed

President Moon Jae-in said that the Republic of Korea-U.S. alliance has been consolidated as a comprehensive strategic alliance to strenthen cooperation in economic, regional and global issues, as well as security.

President Moon made this announcement on June 30 at a joint press conference following his summit with U.S. President Donal Trump, stressing "We agreed to maintain close cooperation between the two countries based on a robust Republic of Korea-U.S. alliance as a core axis to building peace, stability and prosperity in the region."

This is the eighth meeting between the two leaders since they took office. It has been about 80 days since they met in Washington last April. The two leaders engaged in discussion for 98 minutes, with a meeting with top aides and an expanded meeting, and exchanged opinions on measures to ensure denuclearization and a peace regime on the Korean Peninsula and to further strengthen the Republic of Korea-U.S. alliance.

The two leaders started their summit with a restricted bilateral meeting, joined by four top aides from each side, in a reception room of Cheong Wa Dae. Aides included Minister of Foreign Affairs Kang Kyung-hwa, Presidntial Chief of Staff Noh Young-min, National Security Office Chief Chung Eui-yong and Ambassador to the United States Cho Yoon-je; and on the U.S. side, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, Acting White House Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney, National Security Advisor John Bolton and Ambassador to Republic of Korea Harry Harris. The first part of the summit was followd by an expanded working lunch session, which was joined by six more officials from each side, at a summit venue of Cheong Wa Dae. The two leaders confirmed that they have been mutually aware of the need for dialogue as a means of achieving the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula. They also agreed that the relationship between the two countries is getting stronger, and the strong Korea-U.S. alliance will be further developed by cooperating on the denuclearization issue.

"The Republic of Korea-U.S. alliance has made a lot of progress in terms of the security situation since President Trump was inaugurated as U.S. president. Our alliance has also brought about good results in areas of economic cooperation, such as trade extension, reciprocal development and the revision of the Republic of Korea-U.S. free trade agreement (FTA). Moreover, we are moving towards a great alliance with the help of brisk human and cultural exchange," President Moon said. "I think I can say with great confidence that our relationship with Republic of Korea has never been stronger or better," President Trump replied. Mentioning the names of Security of State Mike Pompeo, National Security Advisor John Bolton and Ambassador to Republic of Korea Harry Harris, Trump also said that the strong relationship between Republic of Korea and the U.S. can be confirmed not only in summit-level talks but also in working-level talks.

After the meeings, the two leaders held a 15-minute jount press confenrence in front of the main stairway of the Main Office of Cheong Wa Dae.

"Today President Trump and I have confirmed that our two countries share the same goal of denuclearization. We agreed that it is very important for us to build peace through the complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula," President Moon said at the press conference.

"Our alliance will evolve into a comprehensive strategic alliance to strenthen mutual cooperation in economic, regional and global issues, as well as security. Through this summit, our iron-clad alliance will become a core axis to ensure peace, stability and prosperity in the region. We will further strenthen and develop the alliance between Republic of Korea and the U.S. by continuing open conversations about all the pending issues," he added.

As the leaders of Republic of Korea and the U.S. confirmed the concurrent implementation of denuclearization and the issues agreed upon between North Korea and the U.S., it appears that the resumption of the North Korea-U.S. denuclearization talks will lead to discussions of the concurrent implementation of the North Korea's denuclearization and other issues the two countries agreed on, such as the creation of a new North Korea-U.S. relationship, the establishment of a peace regime on the Korean Peninsula, and the repatriation of the remains of American prisoners of war and American soldiers who went missing in the Korean War.

By Joo-Hyeong, Lee < Jataka@dema.mil.kr >

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