
President Moon Jae-in has said he is open to inter-Korean talks if the right conditions are met.
President Moon also vowed to step up efforts to denuclearize North Korea,
adding that it is only a way point to peace on the Korean Peninsula.
He made the comments during his New Year’s press conference to explain the government’s key policies for 2018 on Wednesday morning.
The president said the ultimate goals of the government’s foreign and defense policies are to prevent a recurrence of war on the Korean Peninsula.
Moon said recent high-level inter-Korean dialogue only marked the start of efforts to improving ties between the two Koreas as well as resolving the nuclear standoff peacefully.
On Japan’s wartime sex slavery of Korean women, Moon said the 'erroneous knot' with Japan must be untied, adding that the issue can only be truly resolved with a sincere apology from Japan.
Moon also called on lawmakers to expedite consultations on constitutional revision. He emphasized the need to reflect the people’s change in thoughts over the past 30 years while stressing the need to put the proposed amendment to a vote along with the local elections set for June.
He added that the government may have to spearhead constitutional revision should parliament fail to lead.
The live media event at the presidential office was his second press conference following his first on August 17th of last year marking his 100th day in office.