By Lee Hana

President Moon Jae-in held a phone call with U.S. President Donald Trump on Jan. 4 to discuss matters related to the PyeongChang 2018 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games.

The two heads of state decided to temporarily halt U.S.-Korea joint military exercises during the sporting event, and agreed to do their best to ensure the successful and peaceful opening of the PyeongChang Games.

"We will closely cooperate with the U.S. during the process of arranging high-level talks with North Korea," said President Moon. "I'm confident that next week's high-level talks will play an important role in resolving the nuclear weapons issue, and encourage dialogue between the U.S. and North Korea," he said.

President Trump wished for a fruitful outcome to the high-level talks between the two Koreas and said the U.S. would be willing to offer assistance if needed. "The U.S. is behind President Moon 100 percent," he stressed.

Furthermore, President Trump said that he would dispatch a high-level delegation as well as members of his family to participate in the PyeongChang Games.

hlee10@korea.kr