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Wednesday, August 15, 2018, 10:59
Moon says to deepen trust with DPRK in Pyongyang summit
By Xinhua
Wednesday, August 15, 2018, 10:59 By Xinhua

The Republic of Korea's President Moon Jae-in delivers a speech during a ceremony to celebrate the Korean Liberation Day, marking the 73rd anniversary of Korea's liberation from the Japanese colonial rule, in Seoul, Aug 15, 2018. (LEE JIN-MAN / AP)

WASHINGTON/SEOUL - The Republic of Korea (ROK)'s President Moon Jae-in said Wednesday his country will deepen trust with the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) in the upcoming summit with top DPRK leader Kim Jong-un. 

Moon made the remarks during a ceremony to mark the 73rd anniversary of the Korean Peninsula's liberation from the 1910-45 Japanese colonization, according to the presidential Blue House. 

Moon vowed to build deeper trust relations with the DPRK, while making best efforts to facilitate a denuclearization dialogue between Pyongyang and Washington 

After the high-level talks earlier this week, the two Koreas agreed to hold the third Moon-Kim summit in Pyongyang before the end of September. Moon and Kim met in April and May at the border village of Panmunjom, promising to meet in Pyongyang this fall. 

Moon said he will take a dauntless step, through his summit with the DPRK leader, toward the complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula as well as the war-ending declaration and peace treaty. 

ALSO READ: DPRK media calls for declaring end to war on Korean Peninsula

The peninsula remains in a technical state of war as the 1950-53 Korean War ended with an armistice, not a peace treaty. 

Agreements can be sincerely implemented only after deep-rooted distrust is eliminated between Seoul and Pyongyang and between Pyongyang and Washington, Moon said. 

Moon vowed to build deeper trust relations with the DPRK, while making best efforts to facilitate a denuclearization dialogue between Pyongyang and Washington. 

The ROK leader stressed that improved inter-Korean ties are not a by-product of the enhanced DPRK-US relations, but an impetus for the peninsula's denuclearization, saying nuclear threats were eased when inter-Korean relations were good in the past. 

READ MORE: ROK, DPRK holding talks to discuss railway cooperation

Moon and Kim held their first summit on April 27 in Panmunjom, agreeing to the complete denuclearization. It was followed by the inter-Korean summit on May 26, eventually leading to the historic summit between the DPRK leader and US President Donald Trump in Singapore on June 12. 

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo (left) speaks with the Republic of Korea's Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha during a bilateral meeting at the Foreign Ministry in Seoul on June 14, 2018. The US Secretary of State spoke with the ROK foreign minister by phone on August 14 to discuss the denuclearization on the Korean Peninsula. (KIM HONG-JI / POOL / AFP)

US, ROK vow close coordination on DPRK's denuclearization

The US State Department on Tuesday said Secretary of State Mike Pompeo spoke with the ROK's foreign minister by phone earlier in the day to discuss the denuclearization on the Korean Peninsula, and both of them vowed to keep close coordination on the issue. 

In a statement released by State Department spokesperson Heather Nauert, Pompeo and Kang Kyung-wha "discussed DPRK denuclearization efforts and the need to maintain pressure" until "the final, fully verified denuclearization of the DPRK" was achieved. 

ALSO READ: ROK foreign minister discusses Korean Peninsula with Pompeo

The two officials also "vowed to maintain close coordination and communication and they affirmed the enduring strength of the US-ROK Alliance," read the statement. 

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