Anchor: President Moon Jae-in is heading to Washington on Wednesday for summit talks with U.S. President Donald Trump. With the stalled denuclearization dialogue with North Korea high on their agenda, Moon is expected to mediate efforts to narrow the gap between Washington and Pyongyang.
Choi You Sun has this report.
Report: When President Moon Jae-in meets U.S. President Donald Trump at the White House on Thursday, the two leaders are expected to coordinate their positions to revive denuclearization talks with Pyongyang.
Moon, who has mediated between the leaders of Washington and Pyongyang in the past year, is expected to push for top-down diplomacy to break the impasse since the collapse of the U.S.-North Korea summit in Hanoi in late February.
Officials in Seoul have said South Korea and the U.S. are on the same page when it comes to the road map for the North's denuclearization, but the allies apparently hold different views on how to get Pyongyang to begin the process.
Trump reportedly wants a package deal where international sanctions remain intact until Pyongyang fully denuclearizes.
At a Senate hearing on Tuesday, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo reiterated the Trump administration's intent to maintain sanctions on the North during negotiations.
During his meeting with Trump, Moon will try to induce more flexibility from Washington by pushing for a step-by-step approach of "early harvests" and "phased rewards" to further encourage Pyongyang.
A senior official from South Korea's presidential office said the plan would involve first having Pyongyang agree to a road map for its complete denuclearization, then striking "good enough" deals on the path towards that goal.
Moon is also tasked with easing concerns over a possible rift between Seoul and Washington on resolving the nuclear issue while proposing the resumption of inter-Korean cooperation projects in the North's Mount Geumgang and Gaeseong as part of the "phased rewards."
In a move likely aimed at laying the groundwork for Thursday's summit, Moon is scheduled to hold a rare meeting with Trump's key aides including Pompeo, U.S. National Security Adviser John Bolton and U.S. Vice President Mike Pence.
Choi You Sun, KBS World Radio News.