SEOUL, Aug 19 (Bernama) -- President Moon Jae In called on North Korea and the United States on Monday to seize the current chance to achieve denuclearisation and lasting peace, as Seoul and Washington are wrapping up their combined military drills, Yonhap news agency reported.
The allies kicked off the "command-post" exercise on Aug 5. In response, North Korea demonstrated its own firepower with the test-firing of a salvo of short-range missiles and other rocket systems.
South Korea and the US plan to end the training Tuesday, which is expected to help cool renewed tensions on the peninsula.
Pyongyang and Washington are seeking to hold working-level talks for a third summit. The move is a fruit of spontaneous talks between President Donald Trump and the North Korean leader Kim Jong Un at the DMZ village of Panmunjom on June 30.
"If this opportunity is lost, there's no saying when we will be able to create this opportunity again," Moon stressed at the outset of his weekly meeting with top Cheong Wa Dae aides, which was open to media.
Thus, he added, the Koreas and the US should cherish the chance like "a thousand pieces of gold" and seize it.
He called for a careful step forward, as if "handling a fragile glass bowl," on the basis of "wisdom and sincerity" to understand each other's position.
Moon is credited with having initiated the Korea peace process, which has been going slower than expected.
Despite some troubles, the ongoing "dialogue phase" has not come easy, he pointed out.
"It was made with difficulties like a miracle, powered by the determination and decision of the leaders of South and North Korea and the US," Moon said.
Read More:
Bernama
