SEOUL, June 26 -- South Korean President Moon Jae-in on Wednesday emphasized the importance of trust and dialogue for the Korean Peninsula's denuclearization.
"Even though there has been no official dialogue between the DPRK (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) and the United States since the Hanoi summit, their leaders' willingness to engage in dialogue has never faded," Moon said in a joint written interview with Xinhua and other global news agencies.
The DPRK's top leader Kim Jong Un and U.S. President Donald Trump have so far held two summits in Singapore and Vietnam respectively. The second meeting held in Vietnam's capital Hanoi ended without an agreement on Feb. 28.
"Both sides have been engaged in dialogue in regard to a third summit," said Moon. "It's noteworthy that the behind-the-scenes talks have been preceded by the mutual understanding of each other's position gained through the Hanoi summit."
Moon said dialogue and efforts for dialogue are "crucial factors" in the Korean Peninsula's peace process, in which the complete denuclearization of and the lasting peace settlement on the peninsula cannot be achieved overnight.
"There's no reason to regard the current situation as a stalemate in the peace process on the peninsula just because the pace has remained slow," said Moon.
To achieve the ultimate goal of denuclearization, which the DPRK and the United States have already agreed upon during their first summit in Singapore last June, Moon said a trust-building is at the core to break the mistrust that has been built between Pyongyang and Washington for the past seven decades.
"My administration has put emphasis on the structure of a virtuous cycle between negotiations and trust," said Moon.
"It is all about building trust through dialogue and negotiations and, again, enabling that trust to produce positive results of dialogue and negotiations," said Moon. "This is no doubt the quickest and most solid path to achieve denuclearization."
He noted that the inter-Korean economic cooperation projects, including the resumption of operations at the inter-Korean industrial park in the DPRK's border town of Kaesong, are appealing to both Koreas and the United States.
The projects, Moon said, could help reduce the burden of the international community, including the United States, and present a look ahead to the kind of bright future that could greet the DPRK should it complete denuclearization.
"The key is trust ... As the parties have already sought to resolve relevant issues through dialogue, they must engage in dialogue while trusting each other," said Moon.
"Trust, of course, must be reciprocal," Moon noted, indicating the significance of both the DPRK's denuclearization steps and the corresponding measures from the United States and the international society.
"This is why the DPRK has to actively engage in dialogue with the international community, not only through the denuclearization talks with the United States, but also through other bilateral and multilateral discussions," said Moon. "Dialogue will help enhance confidence, and confidence will in turn keep the dialogue going."
The South Korean leader said China and Russia continue to play constructive roles to peacefully resolve the Korean Peninsula issue.
"I hope that President Xi Jinping's visit to the DPRK last week will be a turning point that can help resume dialogues between the two Koreas and between the DPRK and the United States," said Moon.