Moon says 'only a matter of time' to end Korean War

By Kim Yoo-chul

President Moon Jae-in is seeking to win support from key European Union countries on his nine-day visit there to participate in an Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM) summit, Cheong Wa Dae said Friday.

"There would be some announcements on the sidelines of Moon's participation in the ASEM summit. There is sympathy for the reconciliation process that South Korea is trying to pursue. The EU has a mixed policy toward North Korea, which is a mixture of talks, aid and sanctions. Given the ongoing progress in nuclear disarmament talks, winning additional backing from the EU will be clearly helpful," a senior Cheong Wa Dae official said.

Like the United States, China and Russia, the other key stakeholders in the North's denuclearization talks, the main goal the EU hopes for is to stop Pyongyang's nuclear provocations to bring more stability to the Korean Peninsula and Northeast Asia.

But the EU is known to apply a greater flexibility when it comes to North Korean policies as its "strategic engagement" initiative blends "sticks and carrots," especially sanctions. More precisely, the EU wants to see a gradual removal of U.N. or at least EU sanctions as North Korea has been taking "visible steps" toward denuclearization.

The EU's stance is in accordance with Seoul's role as facilitator between Pyongyang and Washington. South Korea and China were hoping to help North Korea get at least a "partial lifting" of economic sanctions if the North sees further advancement in its roadmap to completely dismantle its nuclear program.

Moon's office said he will hold a summit with French President Emmanuel Macron, European Council President Donald Tusk and Danish Prime Minister Lars Loekke Rasmussen. France, one of the "big three" in the EU, is a supporter of "blended engagement" toward Pyongyang.

It's been expected President Moon may ask EU President Tusk to resume EU's bilateral dialogues with North Korea, the last of which was held in 2015. The Cheong Wa Dae official declined to specify.

Unlike the United States and Japan, Europe isn't directly threatened by the North's nuclear warheads, but a proliferation of nuclear programs by "would-be" nuclear countries including North Korea and Iran may increase the risk of instability in the region, according to political analysts in Seoul. There were reports that North Korean bomb materials may have been used and exported to the Middle East for use in Europe.

Cheong Wa Dae said President Moon will hold a face-to-face meeting with Pope Francis on Oct. 18 in the Vatican. At the meeting, Moon will deliver North Korean leader Kim Jong-un's invitation to visit Pyongyang. The Pope earlier said he wants to visit Japan next year.

On Friday, Moon said it is "only a matter of time" before the United States and North Korea to declare an end to the Korean War.

"I had ample discussions with U.S. President Donald Trump and other U.S. officials about an end-of-war declaration. If North Korea takes certain measures, the end-of-war declaration would be a political statement that would announce that the longstanding hostile relations between Pyongyang and Washington have ended," Moon said in an interview with BBC through an interpreter. Cheong Wa Dae confirmed Moon's remarks.

"Changes are happening in North Korea, right now," he said.

（作者：汽车音响）