Cooperation with Japan

[Anchor Lead]

President Moon Jae-in held talks with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in Russia. The two leaders agreed to engage China and Russia for tougher resolutions on North Korea. Given the current security situation on the Korean Peninsula, President Moon decided not to raise issue with Japan over its colonial era atrocities.

[Pkg]

On the second day of his visit to Russia, President Moon Jae-in sat down for the second summit with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. During the 50-minute-long meeting, the two leaders agreed to try their hardest to convince China and Russia to join the tougher U.N. Security Council sanctions against North Korea, which includes a ban on oil exports.

[Soundbite] Pres. Moon Jae-in : "I'd like to give words of comfort to the Japanese people. This is why it's become more urgent for South Korea and Japan to work more closely together."

As for the thorny issues concerning Japan's sexual slavery and forced labor of Koreans, the president has decided not to take issue and keep them contained given the current security situation on the Korean Peninsula.

[Soundbite] Shinzo Abe(Japanese PM) : "I hope to build new, future-oriented bilateral relations in multiple areas."

In the keynote speech given at the Eastern Economic Forum, President Moon said successful development of the Far East would make North Korea want to join the program, thus providing a fundamental solution to North Korea's nuclear problem. He said North Korea's nuclear threats should be resolved for the sake of the Eursian economic cooperation program and repeatedly asked for Russia's support for tougher sanctions against North Korea.

[Soundbite] Pres. Moon Jae-in : "The North Korea nuclear issue is also a problem that Russia should solve for the development of the Far East."

President Moon proposed to first strengthen cooperation between South Korea and Russia to induce change in North Korea before actualizing trilateral cooperation among South and North Korea and Russia in the future.