Moon Urges North Korea to Return to Dialogue Table

South Korean President Moon Jae-in (R) shakes hands with visiting former U.S. leader Barack Obama following their meeting at the presidential office Cheong Wa Dae in Seoul on July 3, 2017. (Image: Cheong Wa Dae)

SEOUL, July 3 (Yonhap) – South Korean President Moon Jae-in urged North Korea to return to the negotiating table Monday, saying now may be the last chance for the communist state to do so.

In a meeting with former U.S. President Barack Obama, the new South Korean president noted he and U.S. President Donald Trump agreed to continue using sanctions and pressure as a tool to denuclearize North Korea but also use dialogue in parallel.

South Korean President Moon Jae-in urged North Korea to return to the negotiating table Monday, saying now may be the last chance for the communist state to do so. (Image: Cheong Wa Dae)

Moon returned home late Sunday following his trip to the U.S. for his first summit talks with the new U.S. leader.

Obama was on a trip here to speak at a leadership forum organized and hosted by a local daily newspaper. (Image: Cheong Wa Dae)

In a joint statement issued after their summit, Trump stated his support for South Korea’s leading role in ridding North Korea of its nuclear weapons, as well as Seoul’s ongoing efforts to resume dialogue with Pyongyang to discuss humanitarian issues.

Obama was on a trip here to speak at a leadership forum organized and hosted by a local daily newspaper.

(Yonhap)