South Korean President Moon Jae In expressed his expectations for the U.S.-North Korea summit meeting during a recent written interview with The Yomiuri Shimbun, ahead of his visit to Japan for a three-way summit meeting on Wednesday with Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and Chinese Premier Li Keqiang.
The Yomiuri Shimbun: South Korea and North Korea agreed on the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula during the inter-Korean summit meeting on April 27. What results do you expect concerning the denuclearization of North Korea from the upcoming U.S.-North Korea summit meeting?
Moon: Through the inter-Korean summit meeting, I exchanged opinions frankly with Chairman [of the Workers' Party of Korea] Kim Jong Un, and we directly confirmed our determination to realize complete denuclearization and a nuclear-free Korean Peninsula.
I think Chairman Kim's firm determination toward "complete denuclearization" will be a positive base for the success of the U.S.-North Korea summit meeting.
It's important from this point to reach an agreement and compile concrete, bold proposals to realize complete denuclearization through the U.S.-North Korea summit meeting. This is because the settlement of peace on the peninsula and the common prosperity of South and North Korea will be possible only with substantial progress in denuclearization, the subsequent normalization of diplomatic ties between the United States and North Korea, and the establishment of a system for permanent peace.
[U.S.] President [Donald] Trump, who is an excellent negotiator and leader who can achieve a bold agreement, also highly praised the progress in the inter-Korean summit meeting and expressed his expectations for the U.S.-North Korea summit meeting.
As the U.S.-North Korea summit meeting, which is a golden historic opportunity, is right in front of us, I'll do my utmost to achieve complete denuclearization and a nuclear-free Korean Peninsula, and usher in an era of peace and prosperity for the peninsula.
Q: In the past, after agreeing with the international community on "denuclearization," North Korea broke its promises and again repeated moves for nuclear development. Do you think the "complete, verifiable and irreversible denuclearization" of Pyongyang that is sought by the international community is possible?
A: As I said, Chairman Kim Jong Un and I directly confirmed the goal of realizing complete denuclearization and a nuclear-free Korean Peninsula for the first time between leaders of South and North Korea during the inter-Korean summit meeting televised live while the entire world was paying attention to it.
In addition, Chairman Kim revealed his intention to close a nuclear test site in North Korea in May and make the information public. I think this is a meaningful step toward bright prospects for the complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula.
Of course, in a situation where the U.S.-North Korea summit meeting has yet to be held and concrete steps for denuclearization are not guaranteed, I think hasty optimism should be avoided. But if we fall into pessimism that the current negotiations will fail, like the past agreements on North Korea's nuclear programs fell through, nothing will be achieved.
Chairman Kim Jong Un clearly understands the demand from the international community. I want to play every possible role to strengthen the trust between the United States and North Korea and smoothly realize an agreement [between them].
And in the process, I'll closely cooperate with the main countries concerned, including Japan, in the international community.
Q: You had direct talks with Kim. What impression did you get from him? Did you feel he is a reliable negotiator?
A: During the summit meeting, I had an open-minded dialogue with Chairman Kim. The topics of the dialogue ranged widely from peace on the peninsula to relations between South and North Korea. I can say that it was a big achievement of the summit meeting this time to confirm the strong determination of Chairman Kim to realize the peace and prosperity of the Korean Peninsula.
During the talks, I got the impression that Chairman Kim is a very open and practical person. Chairman Kim and I were able to confirm a common goal of the complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula and reach the precious agreement of the Panmunjom Declaration. From now on, based on our deep mutual trust, we'll make bold steps toward peace and prosperity, and unification.
Q: What role do you want Japan to play to solve North Korea's nuclear issues and achieve peace and security on the Korean Peninsula?
A: Japan will be able to fulfill a very important role in the peace and prosperity of the Korean Peninsula. I think this is true for such various fields as close cooperation among South Korea, Japan and the United States for the achievement of the complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula, and the normalization of diplomatic ties between Japan and North Korea for the security of the North Korean regime. In particular, I think dialogue between Japan and North Korea should be resumed. If Japan-North Korea relations are normalized, that would greatly contribute to peace and security in Northeast Asia beyond the Korean Peninsula.
I also discussed Japan-North Korea relations with Chairman Kim. I told him about Prime Minister Abe's intention to proceed with the normalization of Japan-North Korea relations based on the settlement of the past problems [between them]. Chairman Kim clearly said that he is ready to have a dialogue with Japan anytime.
A big transformation in world history has begun on the Korean Peninsula and in Northeast Asia. From now on, South Korea will cooperate with Japan while closely communicating with Tokyo. I expect Japan's active support and cooperation on the future road toward the settlement of permanent peace on the peninsula, as well as for the success of the U.S.-North Korea summit meeting.
Be active about abductions
Q: North Korea's abduction of Japanese nationals has been a major issue in Japan. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is expected to ask you to cooperate on the issue during the Japan-South Korea summit meeting. As there are reportedly more than 400 South Koreans who have been abducted by North Korea, can we expect your cooperation on the issue of Japanese abductees?
A: I understand well how important the issue of abduction victims is for the Japanese government and people. Prime Minister Abe, who attaches priority to this issue, has made a request [on the issue], but since it is a humanitarian issue more than anything else, I have raised this issue with the North Korean side. I again talked about this issue directly with Chairman Kim in our summit meeting.
The issue of abduction victims has remained a challenge between Japan and North Korea for a long time, and I am aware that a pessimistic view is also growing inside Japan regarding the resolution of this issue. However, I think that a clue to the solution can be found if we proceed with talks in an active manner while being cautious.
In retrospect, there has been a strongly pessimistic view about a change in North Korea's attitude, including its nuclear issue. And yet, a small current of peace was created at the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics, and North Korea agreed to complete denuclearization and the establishment of permanent peace.
Above all, I hope that the pending issue between Japan and North Korea will be solved via a lasting dialogue, thereby easing the long-standing pain of the families of the abduction victims. For this also to be achieved, I will continue cooperation with the Japanese government.
'Japan must sincerely apologize to victims'
Q: Between Japan and South Korea, there are a number of difficult issues deriving from past history, and the gaps in the two countries' positions over these issues are often unbridgeable and hinder progress in bilateral ties. There are also views that the history issue will never, ever be resolved, as the bilateral friendship and cooperation will not be sustained for a long time and the relationship will continue cooling due to these issues. How do you think you can solve these problems?
A: South Korea and Japan are neighbors that are geographically close to each other and share many aspects of culture and history. However, I think that many people of both countries have the impression that bilateral relations have been at a standstill.
In order for both countries to relate to each other in a heart-to-heart manner and get closer, forgiveness and reconciliation on the part of victims -- who suffered and have a deep wound in their hearts due to the unhappy history -- are necessary.
I think it is difficult for treaties and agreements between the governments alone to reclaim the human dignity of many people, including comfort women victims, as an individual and to perfectly heal the wounds in their hearts.
Sincere self-reflection and an apology from the bottom of the heart must be conveyed to and received by the victims. The victims' wounds will not be eased and true reconciliation will not be possible until joint efforts get underway to look at history directly and squarely -- all the more as history is something that one wants to take their eyes off -- and to learn from history so that the cruelty of the past will never happen again. I think that cultivating a new future based on this will lead to a perfect solution of the history issue.
I have consistently expressed my position to promote future-oriented bilateral cooperation separately from the history issue as both countries devote themselves to efforts to wisely overcome the history issue. Through such a process, I will do my best as president so that both countries become true friends that relate to each other in a heart-to-heart way.
Q: This year marks the 20th anniversary of the 1998 Japan-South Korea joint declaration by then Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi and then South Korean President Kim Dae Jung. You have prioritized a future-oriented relationship between South Korea and Japan. What kind of conditions do you think are needed to build future-oriented bilateral ties? How have you worked to build such future-oriented relations between the two countries since you took office as president and how will you work toward this aim?
A: South Korea and Japan share over 2,000 years of history of working together. There were times when exchange and cooperation were in full bloom, as well as dark and unhappy times. I believe the relationship between South Korea and Japan should be developed separately from the history issue. The two-track approach -- which my diplomacy toward Japan is based on -- is in line with the "Joint Declaration on a New ROK-Japan Partnership towards the 21st Century," adopted 20 years ago by President Kim Dae Jung and Prime Minister Obuchi.
This declaration is a product of efforts by the leaders in the previous generation over how to develop relations between South Korea and Japan from the past into the future, and incorporates the wisdom and visions of the two great leaders. In the declaration, President Kim Dae Jung stated his view that "the present calls upon both countries to overcome their unfortunate history and to build a future-oriented relationship based on reconciliation as well as good-neighborly and friendly cooperation." I think that this "call" is still effective in the present. I believe that in an effort to build a future-oriented relationship between South Korea and Japan, the solution lies in returning to the spirit of the Kim Dae Jung-Obuchi joint declaration, and maintaining and developing it.
The Kim Dae Jung-Obuchi joint declaration proposes an "action plan" for a new South Korea-Japan partnership toward the 21st century. In the plan, I think that three areas in particular -- activating channels for dialogue, expanding human exchange and strengthening economic cooperation -- are the most important basis for developing bilateral relations.
A good mood is being created for the bilateral relationship with the recent activation of channels for dialogue in various sectors. I am very happy about it. Close leader-level consultations are also underway. Prime Minister Abe and I will have had six meetings, including a South Korea-Japan summit on the sidelines of the upcoming South Korea-Japan-China summit meeting, and 12 telephone talks -- which means we have had the most frequent communication among the all-time leaders. Reciprocal diplomacy between South Korea and Japan will be completely resumed with Prime Minister Abe's visit in February to the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics and my attendance at the upcoming seventh South Korea-Japan-China summit.
What makes me happier is that Japanese cuisine, novels, dramas and anime are gaining great popularity in South Korea and that South Koreans like traveling to Japan very much. I hope more Japanese people will visit South Korea in the future. I think that in the near future, we will create an era in which the number of visitors to each other reaches 10 million.
Key partners
Q: We are facing an unpredictable situation in the global economy as the threat of a tariff war has intensified between the United States and China, and multilateral pacts, including a regional comprehensive economic partnership (RCEP) in East Asia and the Trans-Pacific Partnership free trade deal, have been actively pursued. Japanese manufacturing industries such as Toray Industries Inc. have recently invested heavily in South Korea, and the number of promising young South Koreans who have found jobs in Japan has been on the rise. How do you describe such economic relations between Japan and South Korea? What areas of cooperation do you think the two countries should promote for the future?
A: South Korea and Japan are major trading partners with each other, and the two countries are core partners in economic cooperation in terms of protecting free trade in the region. Since normalizing diplomatic relations in 1965, bilateral cooperation has developed rapidly in various fields and the amount of bilateral trade exceeded 100 billion dollars in 2011. I think businesspeople in both countries have played a more significant role than anything else. People in the business sector have left many successful examples by jointly entering third countries through mobilizing their respective strengths. I expect such cooperation will continue on a wider scale.
I think the future of South Korea-Japan economic cooperation depends on innovation-led growth. We have to strengthen mutual cooperation through pioneering industries such as artificial intelligence, robotics and bio[technology] to deal with the Fourth Industrial Revolution era. Meanwhile, the two countries have societies with aging populations and declining birthrates, which developed at different periods, as well as labor and job shortages. I believe that we have to seek mutually beneficial measures, taking full advantage of being neighboring countries. I hope that both governments expand the scope of youth exchanges between South Korea and Japan, and cooperate each other to create jobs.
Q: On May 10, it will mark a year since you were inaugurated as president. After the inauguration, what is the most painful experience or memorable thing? Can you share your true thoughts with us?
A: When I was inaugurated, I promised that I would be a reliable president. I have devoted my utmost efforts during the year to make this country worthy of being called a nation and to be a reliable president for the people. So many things have happened in the past year. However, there is a long way ahead, I will walk along this road calmly.
Since even before my inauguration, I have been thinking greatly about how to denuclearize the Korean Peninsula and establish permanent peace. Since I was inaugurated, I have thought about taking a new step forward toward peace on the Korean Peninsula as early in my term as possible. That's because I have experienced the deterioration of South-North relations, which had a good inter-Korean agreement but lacked a process of nurturing ties.
About a year has passed, I think it is very fortunate to have been able to build an initial foundation [for denuclearization and peace]. Needless to say, implementing and fulfilling an agreement are more important than reaching one. My idea is to move forward very cautiously to work on establishing stronger South-North relations and more certain peacemaking than ever.
Aftereffects of the inter-Korean summit are still lingering. The situation on the Korean Peninsula has been changing at an amazingly fast pace ahead of the U.S.-North Korea summit meeting. I hope to keep walking calmly but passionately to accomplish peace on the Korean Peninsula and across the world, in which Korean people live in happiness.
Q: Reading your autobiography "The Destiny," it is clear that you experienced hardships before becoming a lawyer, and have worked on issues mainly involving workers' human rights since then. Did your experience during that time steer you toward politics?
A: I was born in a family originally from an area that is now part of North Korea and I grew up in poverty. I felt the importance of sharing with others in my childhood. I became a lawyer because I had a strong sense of compassion toward poor people and those who are out of reach from a helping hand.
As a lawyer working on labor and human rights issues, I strengthened my belief through exchanges with workers and socially vulnerable people that South Korean society should change. I believe that ordinary people should be the leaders of nations. That idea led me to the world of politics.
During my political activities, I always bear a motto in mind: To govern means to rectify. I think the expression, from the Analects of Confucius means: Implement the right policies, follow justice, do not change opinions capriciously, and do not mix official business with personal affairs. When the country does not violate justice but is just and fair, the people will believe in the country and will be able to make their dreams come true.
Kodaira, Lee models
Q: Can we ask you about your relationship with and impression of Japan. In your book "The Destiny," it is mentioned that you visited Japan when you were a lawyer. Have you been to Japan besides that time? If so, what impression did you have back then? What do you think are Japan's good points in your judgment?
A: I have had chances to visit Japan several times. My last visit was June 2012, I think. I had useful discussions with businesspeople, people in academic circles over the issues of renewable energy, peace and security in Northeast Asia and others. The ideas I reached [after intense discussions] with Japanese experts are reflected in the policies I am promoting. I am from Busan. From the town I used to live in, we could see Tsushima island when the weather was clear. Because we had ferries connecting Busan and Shimonoseki [in Yamaguchi Prefecture], I had many occasions to come in contact with Japanese products. I remember they were excellent in function and performance, I assume that those products represented Japanese politeness and sincerity.
Also, later on, whenever I met Japanese people, I felt they were prudent and compassionate. Japanese people have very wonderful strong points, such as the way they consider others. [The behavior of Japanese speed skater] Nao Kodaira, who was victorious at the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics, gave me the same impression. She considered and thought about her rival [South Korean] Lee Sang Hwa and her behavior touched and impressed South Koreans deeply. I hope South Korea-Japan relations will develop like the beautiful friendship between Nao Kodaira and Lee Sang Hwa.
(Original transcript provided by the South Korean government in Japanese.)
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