Press Conference

[Anchor Lead]

In his New Year press conference, President Moon Jae-in pledged to achieve economic results including creating jobs so that people can feel the effects in daily life. He also assessed North Korean leader Kim Jong-un's visit to China as a positive signal in North Korea-US nuclear negotiations, and expected Kim's visit to Seoul to take place after the North-US summit.

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President Moon Jae-in cited the dismal employment situation as the most regrettable aspect of his first 20 months in office. He said jobs were the biggest task at hand in the new year, and vowed to maintain policy guidelines but also demonstrate change by complementing existing policy measures.

[Soundbite] Pres. Moon Jae-in : "2019 will be a year focused on improving both the quantity and quality of employment."

He also stressed that economic policies must produce results tangibly felt by the public and called for "innovation" across all industries. On North Korea, Moon expected that leader Kim Jong-un's visit to Seoul will likely take place after the second Pyongyang-Washington summit.

[Soundbite] "I believe it's necessary for the two Korean leaders to sit down and share results of the Pyongyang-Washington summit in some way or form in a bid to further advance inter-Korean relations."

He assessed Kim's visit to China as a positive signal in North Korea-US dialogue, and noted that if the second summit takes place, this means the two sides have narrowed opinions over denuclearization versus corresponding measures. The South Korean leader also pointed out, he responded to the letter he received from Kim Jong-un, but did not elaborate details. Moon also welcomed North Korea's willingness to resume operation of the Kaesong Industrial Complex as well as South Korean tours to the North's Mount Kumkang resort. He added Seoul will cooperate with the international community to resolve the issue of sanctions. Regarding relations with Japan, the president asked for Tokyo's humble stance. He highlighted, it's not wise for Tokyo to politicize South Korean court rulings on the issue of Japan's wartime forced labor.