(8th LD) Moon voices optimism before start of historic summit with Kim

(ATTN: CHANGES dateline; RECASTS headline, lead; UPDATES with remarks from leaders of two Koreas; Minor edits)
By Byun Duk-kun

SEOUL/PYONGYANG, Sept. 18 (Yonhap-Joint Press Corps) -- South Korean President Moon Jae-in voiced hope for progress in his upcoming dialogue with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un aimed at restarting the U.S.-North Korea denuclearization talks, noting what he called an unprecedented welcome from Kim and his people in Pyongyang.

"My heart was overwhelmed because the people of Pyongyang welcomed us so enthusiastically," Moon told Kim after arriving at the North's state guesthouse Paekhwawon, according to recorded footage of the leaders' brief dialogue broadcast in Seoul.

Kim responded by expressing his willingness to speed up efforts for peace and reconciliation.

"I think we have to remember the wishes of the people of North and South and work at a faster pace and make bigger achievements," he said.

Kim apologized for what he called the rather humble guesthouse.

"These are the best accommodations and itinerary we could come up with so we hope you would accept our sincerity," he told Moon.

"If the people of the South see the enthusiastic welcome of the people in Pyongyang, they too may be moved and touched," Moon said.

The South Korean president arrived in Pyongyang earlier in the day for a three-day visit that will include at least two rounds of summit talks with Kim.

Kim and his wife, Ri Sol-ju, were among thousands, if not tens of thousands, of North Koreans that filled Pyongyang's Sunan International Airport and the streets of Pyongyang to welcome the South Korean president and his wife, Kim Jung-sook.

"Now that spring of Panmunjom has led to the autumn of Pyongyang, it is now time for us to truly make progress," Moon told Kim.

The meeting between Moon and Kim came about four months after the two last met on May 26 in the border village of Panmunjom inside the Demilitarized Zone that divides the two Koreas.

The leaders later held their first official meeting at the headquarters of the Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea (WPK).

Moon is the third South Korean president to have visited the North Korean capital. He is the first South Korean leader to visit the Central Committee of the WPK, according to Yoon Young-chan, Moon's chief press secretary.

His trip to North Korea comes amid a deadlock in denuclearization talks between the United States and North Korea.

The South Korean leader said he will seek to mediate a breakthrough in the denuclearization talks during his three-day trip to the North.

"One (objective) is to continue developing inter-Korean relations, and the other is to promote North Korea-U.S. dialogue aimed at denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula," Moon said while meeting with a group of North Korea experts and special advisers last week.

Shortly before his departure from his office Cheong Wa Dae, the South Korean president said his North Korea visit would be a success if it could help restart the U.S.-North Korea dialogue, according to Yoon Young-chan, senior secretary to the president for public relations.

"(My) North Korea trip would have a great meaning if it could lead to the resumption of North Korea-U.S. dialogue," Moon was quoted as telling his aides before heading to Seoul Air Base.

The denuclearization talks stalled after U.S. President Donald Trump called off a scheduled North Korea trip by his top diplomat, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, citing what he called a lack of progress in the denuclearization process.

Kim reaffirmed his commitment to denuclearize while meeting with Moon's special envoy and top security adviser Chung Eui-yong in Pyongyang this month.

The North Korean leader even expressed hope to complete denuclearization before Trump's first four-year presidency ends in January 2021, according to Chung.

Shortly after, Kim sent what the White House called a "very warm" and "very positive" letter to Trump, which has apparently made the U.S. president consider holding a second U.S.-North Korea summit with Kim.

The South Korean president will have at least two encounters with the North Korean leader in Pyongyang.

The leaders' first official meeting was set to begin at 3:30 p.m., Yoon told reporters in Seoul.

The summit will be followed by a welcome dinner that could possibly be hosted by Kim.

The two leaders will hold talks again on Wednesday before Moon attends a farewell dinner, again possibly hosted by Kim.

The Moon-Kim summit will mark the third of its kind since Moon took office in May 2017. The two leaders earlier met on April 27 and May 26 in the border village of Panmunjom that sits directly on the inter-Korean border.

Their meeting will also mark the fifth inter-Korean summit ever held. The first two rounds were held in 2000 and 2007, both in Pyongyang, involving then-South Korean presidents Kim Dae-jung and Roh Moo-hyun, in that order, and North Korea's late former leader Kim Jong-il.

bdk@yna.co.kr
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