President Moon to deliver speech in Russia’s State Duma

South Korean President Moon Jae-in said on Thursday that in the wake of the inter-Korean rapprochement, he would push for a three-way cooperation with North Korea and Russia in the fields of railway, energy and electricity.

The South Korean president presented a goal of expanding the volume of bilateral trade to 30 billion U.S. dollars and the number of human exchanges to one million by the year of 2020 to mark the 30th anniversary of establishment of diplomatic ties between Seoul and Moscow.

Describing the recent U.S.-North Korea summit in Singapore as a “historic turning point,” President Moon said the two Koreas and the United States are marching towards an era of peace and cooperation, putting an end to the dark days of waging war and hostility.

Subsequently, President Moon had a meeting with Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev. Going on a two-night four-day state visit to Russia, Mr. Moon is scheduled to have a summit meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday to seek Russia’s cooperation in the denuclearization efforts on the Korean Peninsula.

The core agenda will consist in linking the Moon administration’s “New Nordpolitik” with the Kremlin’s “New Ostpolitik.” It appears that the two heads of state will also have a discussion on whether to hold a tripartite summit meeting among Seoul, Pyongyang and Moscow during the fourth Eastern Economic Forum in September. Putin has sent invitations to both Moon and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.


Sang-Jun Han alwaysj@donga.com