Newly elected President Moon talks with Xi Jinping

Moon can play a mediating role between China and the United States. Review of agreements with the United States on Thaad. Start a denuclearization process with North Korea.

Seoul (AsiaNews / Agencies) - Newly elected South Korean president Moon Jae-in and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping today had a long telephone conversation lasting about 40 minutes. They have promised to improve the bilateral relations between their countries, and to join the efforts of all parties concerned to denuclearize North Korea.

The news was announced by Seoul's Presidential Office. Xi Jinping called the new South Korean leader to congratulate him on his election, said Moon's spokesman Yoon Young-chan. During a briefing with the press, he stressed that this is an exceptional event for a Chinese leader. "The two heads of state discussed ways to improve relations between South Korea and China and exchanged their views on all issues related to the Korean Peninsula," he added.

The Moon-Xi dialogue is an important novelty for South Korea's political position in the international crisis that involves China, the US and North Korea. Such dialogue can lead to key decisions in Pyongyang. "I will fly directly to Washington ... I will go to Beijing and Tokyo and, under certain conditions, also to Pyongyang," Moon had said in his inaugural address.

During his election campaign, Moon wanted to mark the distance with the outgoing administration by committing himself to the path of dialogue with Pyongyang in order to start the denuclearization process. A big difference from the previous sanctions approach, backed by US President Donald Trump, to exert the highest pressure on North Korea.

"With regard to inter-Korean relations, President Moon Jae-in will have no contact with North Korea that will surprise the US," said Moon Chung-in, Honorary Professor at Yonsei University at Yonhap. The professor is a security adviser to former President Roh Moo-hyun, a political mentor for the new president, and is known as the politician of the North with President Kim Dae-jung. Lastly, he participated in a security policy consulting group on Moon's electoral team.

According to Moon Chung-in's analysis, the new president might first seek out an unofficial dialogue with North Korea. The professor underlined the precious mediation role that Seoul can play between Washington and Beijing on North Korean politics in order to point out a leading role for South Korea in the multilateral process to denuclearize the North.

The analyst urges the new administration to adopt a three-stage process of real-world nuclear denuclearization for North Korea, consisting of the initial freezing of nuclear and missile tests, followed by the verifiable dismantling of North Korean nuclear power and nuclear materials, and finally the elimination of all nuclear weapons.

According to Moon's advisor, it is right for the new president to wonder if the Thaad (High Altitude Area Defense) anti-missile system is militarily useful and whether Seoul must meet Trump's request to pay a billion dollars.

This does not mean wanting to compromise the relationship with the United States, but it is clear that Moon has to step down from the strategic rivalry between China and the United States. That is why, during his election campaign, Moon stated that the Thaad decision was taken too quickly and that his administration would have the final word on the system’s roll out.

• China
• South Korea
• Usa
• Thaad
• Moon Jae-in
• Xi Jinping
• Trump