By Kim Young Shin

President Moon Jae-in met with Japanese Foreign Minister Taro Kono on April 11 and they shared their opinions on the state of affairs on the Korean Peninsula.

President Moon emphasized that it's a critical time these days as we approach the 2018 Inter-Korean summit, the possible North Korea-U.S. summit, and a trilateral summit among Korea, China and Japan.

“For peace and prosperity on the Korean Peninsula as well as across Northeast Asia, close cooperation between Seoul and Tokyo is important, more than ever,” said President Moon. “For the goal of denuclearizing the Korean Peninsula and settling everlasting peace across the region, I especially ask the Japanese government to play a constructive role.”

“The Japanese government respects the Korean government for playing a major role in pushing forward a summit between the two Koreas and between North Korea and the U.S.,” said the Japanese foreign minister. “Japan hopes for close ties with Korea, as well as among Korea, the U.S. and Japan, for the realization of denuclearization in North Korea.”

Prior to the meeting, Minister Kono met with his Korean counterpart, Minister Kang Kyung-wha, and confirmed that the two countries share the same goal of further developing diplomatic ties between Seoul and Tokyo, denuclearizing the Korean Peninsula, and bringing permanent peace to the region.

ysk1111@korea.kr