- Tells domestic media executives in meeting that “only when the first North Korea-U.S. summit is successful” can we declare peace talks successful

- Asks media outlets to steer domestic conversation toward inter-Korean peace

Inter-Korean Summit Preparatory Committee ｜2018.4.19

Eight days before the 2018 inter-Korean summit, the presidential office of Cheong Wa Dae in Seoul gathered domestic media executives for a meeting with President Moon on the upcoming talks. Top executives from 47 news outlets attended the 90-minute luncheon, which was chaired by Yoon Young-chan, senior secretary to the president for public communication’.

This was the first time since 2000, the year of the first inter-Korean summit, that Cheong Wa Dae invited top media executives for a briefing, though it often invites beat reporters and political desk editors to events. The meeting in 2000 was also held days before the first inter-Korean summit.

President Moon on April 19 speaks to the heads of domestic news outlets before an officially scheduled luncheon at Cheong Wa Dae.

President Moon opened the meeting by giving his reason for calling it, saying, “I’ve called on you, the leaders of our nation’s media and facilitators of public discussion, for advice days before an immensely significant national event that will determine the future of the Korean Peninsula.”

“Many people have referred to my Berlin declaration made in July last year as the stuff of dreams, but that dream is now becoming a reality. Bold imagination and strategy have allowed us to change the game and open the path toward peace that we see before us today,” he added.

The president also urged caution, saying, “Objectively speaking, however, we stand only at the threshold of dialogue,” adding, “In addition to the inter-Korean summit, ’only if the first North Korea-U.S. summit is successful can we declare the peace talks a success. To bring these two summits to fruition and avoid the mistakes of the past, we need bold imagination and creative solutions.”

South Korea’s media have played a big role in inter-Korean relations. In the latter 1990s, news outlets sent reporters to North Korea while facilitating exchanges and publishing a series on the North’s cultural heritage. These pioneering efforts helped set the stage for the joint inter-Korean declaration released on June 15, 2000. In August of the same year, 46 media executives from South Korea went to the North to announce the content of a joint agreement between news outlets of both countries.

“As far as the inter-Korean summit is concerned, our country’s media are the government’s partner,” President Moon said. “I believe that if our media can steer the domestic conversation toward peace as they did in the past, not only will the two summits be successful, but we’ll be one step closer to the complete denuclearization and establishment of everlasting peace on the Korean Peninsula.”

Yang Sung-dong, chairman of the Korean Broadcasters Association, said, “Improving inter-Korean relations and establishing peace on the Korean Peninsula are universal values,” adding, “I view the recovery of peace and commonality between the two Koreas as the public duty of public broadcasters like KBS, MBC and SBS.”

“I’m grateful for your expectations of us to do our utmost to promote the improvement of inter-Korean relations, North Korea’s denuclearization, and the preservation and development of the path toward peace.”



Lee Byeong-kyu, chairman of the Korean Newspapers Association, said, “Those of us in media are confident that the inter-Korean summit on April 27 will become the starting point for a completely nuclear-free Korea, a milestone on the new path toward peace,” adding that all domestic news outlets will walk that path together with the Korean people.

The luncheon meeting was attended by the heads of 47 news outlets, along with Minister of Foreign Affairs Kang Kyung-wha, Minister of Unification Cho Myoung Gyon, Chief of Staff to the President Im Jong-seok, Chief of Staff for Policy Jang Hasung, Director of National Security Chung Eui-Yong, and Presidential Spokesperson Kim Eui-kyeom.

The following is the transcript of President Moon’s opening and closing remarks.

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President Moon’s Opening Remarks

It’s great to see you all. Thank you for giving your precious time at such a critical moment. Just one week remains before the inter-Korean summit. The North Korea-U.S. summit will soon follow. If ’anybody knows international affairs, it’s’ those who work in media, yet I’m willing to bet that almost nobody here predicted our current situation. It’s been that dramatic a turn of events. We need to ensure that the inter-Korean summit establishes a firm milestone on a new road toward the denuclearization of and everlasting peace on the Korean Peninsula, and sustainable inter-Korean relations. We all need to help guide the North Korea-U.S. summit toward success. We must end the armistice of the past 65 years, get both sides to declare peace and conclude an official peace treaty. I’ve called on you, the leaders of our nation’s media and facilitators of public discussion, for advice days before an immensely significant national event that will determine the future of the Korean Peninsula.

Looking back, it was only a few months ago when an extreme escalation of military tension brought the shadow of war over the Korean Peninsula. The majority of domestic and foreign news sources said North Korea would never give up its nuclear weapons, predicting that the North would seek recognition as a nuclear state and confront the U.S. Even when the North’s participation in the PyeongChang Winter Olympics opened up inter-Korean dialogue, the crisis theory said that after the Olympics were over, a joint military exercise between South Korea and the U.S. would destroy any hope of restored relations, keeping our people in fear. Perhaps things could’ve gone that way. Yet instead of relying on the whims of fate, our efforts and determination to take control and create the situation we desire turned the tide.

Many people have referred to my Berlin declaration made in July last year as the stuff of dreams, but that dream is now becoming a reality. Bold imagination and strategy have allowed us to change the game and open the path toward peace that we see before us today.

North Korea has now communicated its willingness to the international community to denuclearize. It has also openly indicated a desire to open dialogue with us. In addition, the U.S. and the North have expressed a mutual willingness to cooperate. They’re working toward a bilateral summit, with each party demonstrating a sincere desire to create an atmosphere favorable to the summit’s success.

To reach this point, we’ve perfectly maintained a system of intelligence sharing and cooperation with the U.S. As I’ve said several times before, President Trump’s unconditional support and encouragement for dialogue based on North Korea’s denuclearization has helped completely reverse the turn of events. Objectively speaking, however, we stand only at the threshold of dialogue. It’s too early to tout success. In addition to the inter-Korean summit, only when the first North Korea-U.S. summit is successful can we declare the peace talks a success. To bring these two summits to fruition and avoid the mistakes of the past, we need bold imagination and creative solutions.

Our nation’s media have played a major role in inter-Korean relations. It was our media that took steps to initiate inter-Korean exchange before the government. In the latter 1990s, various news outlets sent reporters on continuous visits to North Korea while facilitating exchange and publishing a series on North Korea’s cultural heritage. These pioneering efforts eventually set the stage for the June 15 North–South Joint Declaration in 2000. In August of the same year, 46 media executives went to North Korea to announce the content of a joint agreement between North and South Korean news outlets. Today’s reality makes it hard to believe such events even took place. All of you probably feel the same way. So I believe that if our media can steer the domestic conversation toward peace as they did in the past, not only will the two summits be successful, but we’ll be one step closer to the complete denuclearization and establishment of everlasting peace on the Korean Peninsula.

As far as the inter-Korean summit is concerned, our country’s media are the government’s partner. The imagination and solutions of me and the government might not be enough. Great expectations incur great burden. As leaders of our nation’s media, I ask that you pool your wisdom. I’ve called today’s meeting to ask for your esteemed counsel and advice. Please speak freely. I hope that as many people as possible speak up. Thank you.

Closing Remarks

Thank you all for your wisdom and expertise. Whether you directly offered your opinion or communicated your thoughts through a question, I sense that you all spoke in the same spirit. Your points of particular concern or interest were also all somewhat similar. Given recent events, I suspect that all of you have the same hopes.

I was chairman of the preparatory committee for the inter-Korean summit of October 4, 2007. Though I didn’t directly take part in the discussions then, I presided over the entire process — topics of discussion, strategy, schedule, related events and even the follow-up meetings — meaning I can say not only do I have summit experience but I know what a successful summit looks like.

But the situation now is completely different from what it was then. The joint statement of September 19, 2005, and the agreement of February 13, 2007, of the Six-Party Talks had already covered any measures on North Korea’s nuclear weapons, and South and North Korea only had to agree on how to best develop inter-Korean relations with no external pressure. Our goal then was to agree on the most projects that realized the content of the June 15 North–South Joint Declaration, and to get the North to accept as many terms as possible. Because of no international sanctions then, all we had to worry about was persuading North Korea to accept our terms, and the results exceeded our expectations.

But now, North Korea’s missiles and nuclear weapons have grown incomparably advanced, meaning we have to be the ones willing to initiate the conversation on their missiles, nukes and compromise. Plus, we have to ensure that the discussion leads to a successful North Korea-U.S. summit. As North Korea is under severe sanctions from both the U.S. and the international community, the two Koreas have few things to discuss that exclusively concern both sides.

Our situation requires us to resolve the issue of the North’s nuclear program and then find a way to ease international sanctions before we can discuss the improvement of inter-Korean relations. This requires an easing of tension not only between the two Koreas, but also between the U.S. and the North and between Japan and the North. Only then can we begin to work on developing inter-Korean ties.

Regarding denuclearization, I don’t think there are any differences in opinion as to what that means. In the past, many predicted that the North would demand to be recognized as a nuclear state and that it would accept U.S. terms that simply prohibited or froze further production of nuclear weapons. The U.S. was also expected to approach the conversation from this angle, regardless of our desire to see North Korea completely free of nukes. But this time, North Korea has unequivocally expressed its willingness to forfeit its entire nuclear arsenal. And it listed no unreasonable conditions that the Americans wouldn’t accept, such as the withdrawal of U.S. troops from South Korea. The North simply mentioned the discontinuation of hostile policies and a guarantee of their regime’s security. Because all of this has been confirmed, we can only assume that the North is willing to engage in dialogue with the U.S.

Therefore, when it comes to the broader terms of consensus — such as denuclearization via the North Korea-U.S. summit, the peace regime resulting from denuclearization, normalization of North Korea-U.S. relations and international aid for the North’s economic development — I don’t foresee any major problems. While officially ending the war was always a part of past discussions such as the September 19 Joint Declaration or the February 13 Agreement, finding a way to a peace treaty shouldn’t be a problem. But as I’m sure you’re all aware, the difficulty lies in how to lay out the specific measures to achieve our objective. As we cannot’ simply rehash past measures, we’ need to find new ones, and both sides will have to agree on such measures for the summit to be successful. The bigger problem is that agreements between the two Koreas have nothing to do with reaching a consensus between North Korea and the U.S.

What we can do is work to bridge the gap between the U.S. and North Korea. We can search for realistic measures that both sides can agree on and propose them in a mutually acceptable way. Regarding this matter, how can we expect single party to conjure up a perfect solution? Naturally, the government and I are both racking our brains, but if you in the media have any fresh ideas or solutions, please let your thoughts be known. Even if it’s not at today’s meeting, feel free to express your ideas through the media or contact me personally.

In the end, the goal is mutual prosperity for both Koreas. The objective we seek through denuclearization and a peace regime is joint prosperity. But as I mentioned before, to achieve that aim, we need both the U.S. and Japan to have smooth relations with North Korea, and we’ll likely need China’s support and participation as well. Regarding the North’s economic development, I believe we need to move beyond inter-Korean cooperation and make it an international effort for it to be feasible.

I view this not as a partisan issue. Obviously, we need to work on communicating with conservatives. Whether you’re conservative or progressive, I’m sure we can all agree on this matter. This isn’t an exclusive summit between South and North Korea, but a dialogue followed by a North Korea-U.S. summit, whose success ensures our success. Therefore, I’m confident that even those who harbor conservative views can see the common goal. In any case, our biggest obstacle is working out those devilishly difficult details.

This is another fresh start. I don’t think it’ll all be resolved in a single swoop. As I mentioned earlier, the inter-Korean summit, in particular, faces many constraints. The two Koreas cannot progress independently of the North Korea-U.S. summit, nor can we transcend international sanctions to reach a bilateral agreement. I thus believe the inter-Korean summit to be a start and that dialogue between South and North Korea will continue through the results of the North Korea-U.S. summit.

Whether it’s the inter-Korean summit or the North Korea-U.S. summit, it would be ideal if both proceeded with the bigger picture in mind, but even if they don’t, it’s absolutely essential that we continue to lay the ground for continued dialogue. I’ll work to make sure that happens.

One of you mentioned reunions between separated families, and I wholeheartedly agree. China’s participation is also essential. Dialogue will begin between the two Koreas and continue between North Korea and the U.S., but when it comes to implementing the terms of the agreements, I believe we’ll need the help of our neighboring countries to make it a reality.

Some of you wanted to get into more specific details, but I think it’s too early to discuss specifics. At this point, we can only do our best to ensure a successful start for the inter-Korean summit. Thank you once again for giving your precious time and wisdom here. Thank you.