Friendly correspondence
Kim thanks South Korean President Moon
04/22/2022, 02:23 am
In the spring of 2018, diplomatic efforts lead to a brief thaw between South Korea, North Korea and the United States. Meanwhile, the mood is icy again. But the contact between the two Koreas is apparently not completely broken, the presidents are writing letters to each other.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has exchanged letters thanking outgoing South Korean President Moon Jae-in for his efforts to improve relations. “Kim Jong Un recognized the efforts and efforts made by Moon Jae-in for the great task of the nation up to the last days of his tenure,” reported North Korea’s KCNA news agency on Friday. The exchange of letters is an “expression of their deep trust”.
Moon’s office confirmed that he exchanged “friend letters” with Kim. According to the KCNA, Moon sent a letter on Wednesday and promised to continue trying to create a basis for reunification based on joint declarations at summit meetings in 2018, despite the “difficult situation”. Kim’s response on Thursday said her “historic” summits gave people “hope for the future.” Both agreed that if both sides “make tireless efforts with hope,” relations would develop.
The exchange of letters took place against the background of the heightened tensions since 2019 after the failed summit between North Korea and the USA and the unusually large number of missile tests of increasingly powerful missiles this year. North Korea is banned from testing missiles and nuclear weapons under a United Nations Security Council resolution. Talks about a peace process between the two Korean states and negotiations with the USA about nuclear disarmament in North Korea have been on hold for a long time.