Seoul: South Korean President Moon Jae-in said Monday that Seoul will actively try to get the nuclear negotiations between Washington and Pyongyang quickly back on track.
Moon made the comments as he led a National Security Council meeting in Seoul to discuss South Korea's diplomatic strategy following the breakdown of a high-stakes summit between President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un last week in Vietnam, which placed the pressure on Moon to broker progress once again.
Moon lobbied hard for the revival of nuclear diplomacy between Washington and Pyongyang following the tensions of 2017 over the North's missile and nuclear tests and Trump's threats to bring down "fire and fury" on the North.
But some experts say the breakdown of the Trump-Kim meeting in Hanoi has raised further doubts about Moon's claim that Kim is genuinely interested in dealing away his nukes and about Moon's role as mediator.
"We hope that both countries will continue their dialogue and that their leaders meet again quickly to reach an agreement that was held off this time," Moon said in a Blue House meeting that was attended by his prime minister, spy chief and ministers of foreign affairs, defense and inter-Korean affairs. "In the process, our role has become important once again," Moon said.