Politics

Moon Jae-in, Kim Jong-un exchange correspondence

Seoul, Apr 22 (EFE).- The leaders of the two Koreas exchanged letters reaffirming the need to strengthen cross-border dialog, North Korea’s state media KCNA and the South’s presidential office reported Friday.

The exchange of letters between Kim Jong-un and Moon Jae-in, who held three historic summits in 2018, took place shortly before the latter ends his mandate as South Korean president on May 9.

In a letter he sent to Kim on Wednesday, Moon hoped that “the era of confrontation should be overcome through dialog,” the presidential office said.

He also urged the incoming administration of conservative Yoon Suk-yeol “to make progress in dialogue, and asked Chairman Kim to engage in inter-Korean cooperation while maintaining the cause of peace on the Korean Peninsula.”

The president lamented that the thaw between the two neighbors “did not reach the place he had hoped for.”

In his reply on Thursday, Kim “appreciated the pains and effort taken by Moon Jae In for the great cause of the nation until the last days of his term of office,” KCNA reported.

He also reiterated Moon’s view that “inter-Korean relations would improve and develop as desired and anticipated by the nation if the North and the South make tireless efforts.”

Ties between the two Koreas, which remain technically at war, have cooled since the failure of the summit between North Korea and the United States in 2019.

Talks between North Korea and the United States have been at a stalemate ever since.

The exchange of letters also comes at a time of escalated tensions amid repeated missile launches by North Korea, including that of an intercontinental ballistic missile, and satellite images indicating that it could be preparing for another nuclear test.

North Korea, which remains cut-off due to the coronavirus pandemic with no sign of opening up to the outside world soon, approved a five-year military modernization plan in January 2021. EFE

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